The Neighborhood Toruto
by Otterpop96
Summary: Tanimachi is just an ordinary girl in her hometown of Sakuma. But, of course, every town has their secrets...including the fact that on the edge of town there exists a neighborhood of monsters to live in peace away from humans. And when Tanimachi is brought into there world, a chain of events is unleashed that will change the world forever...
1. Sakuma's Secret

"Tanimachi-chan, time to get up!"

A alarm blared, but was quickly shut off. A girl with long and frizzy black hair sat up in bed and yawned, her eyes barely open. She stretched her arms up and turned her head, looking outside the window by her bed. The sun rose above the sky, shining light onto the neighborhood below.

The girl slowly pushed herself out of bed and walked over to the vanity in the room, wooden in material and topped by a large and circular mirror encased by wood with spiral designs. The girl sat in the chair by the vanity and grabbed a brush from a drawer on the right, brushing through her long black hair.

"Onee-san, let's go!"

The girl turned her head to see a younger female teenager appearing at the door of the room. She had longer dark brown hair and faded green eyes. The teenager had a bright expression on her face.

"You woke up late!" the girl laughed. "Come on, Onee-san, hurry up!" The girl suddenly disappeared into the hallway.

The girl at the vanity smiled faintly, working faster and harder to brush all her hair. When she finished, she grabbed a pair of dark violet glasses on the edge of the vanity and put them on her face, blinking. Her brown eyes glimmered faintly. The girl smiled and stood up, walking toward her closet as she went to change her pajamas into clothes.

When the girl had finished changing her clothes, she looked at herself in the vanity mirror. She wore a slightly baggy, blue long-sleeved shirt and black pants. Very plain outfit, but the girl liked it that way: simple yet friendly.

The girl exited her room, grabbing a backpack on a chair on her way out. She threw it on her shoulders and walked down a hallway, down some stairs, and into a kitchen, where a woman with shoulder-length brown hair stood by a stove.

"Hey, mom," the girl greeted.

"Good morning, Tani-chan," the woman greeted friendlily, without looking at the girl. "Wake up late?"

"I think so," Tani responded, grabbing some bacon off a plate in the kitchen. She took a small bite and headed for the door.

"Yamada-chan, let's go!" Tani shouted up the stairs.

No reply. But then the younger teenage girl with dark brown hair flew down the stairs, quickly erupting at Tani's side, cheerful and holding a backpack on her shoulders.

"Did you eat breakfast, Onee-chan?" Tani asked.

"Uh-huh," the girl replied. "Come on, let's go!"

Tani nodded and together the two of them exited the house, into the openness of the outside. Tani breathed in as she and the girl walked to school. It was a normal day for Tani and her younger sister, Yamada, to take this route to Sakuma High School every morning. Yamada loved to walk and see people and greet them cheerily….but that was not how Tani acted. Tani was rather quiet and did not like to talk with people. She really had no idea how to talk to people well. She actually quite hated it. All she liked was her books, her teachers, and her studies.

Yet, despite all that, she had a strange perk about her that added to her personality: Tani was extremely curious and adventurous. She loved new places and things, and she found herself becoming curious at everything. She really could not help it, though she sometimes wondered exactly why her personality mixed together like that.

"Hi, Asu-senpai!" Yamada called out to a young gentleman with bright blonde hair.

The man waved to Yamada. "Wonderful morning, isn't it?" he called back.

"I hear we're supposed to get rain," Yamada informed loudly.

"Rain is nice," the man responded. "Have not had any rain in two weeks."

"Yeah, it's gonna be fun!" Yamada called out cheerily.

Tani breathed out in silent exasperation. A noise behind her alerted her of a nearby presence, but she swiftly moved to the side. Yamada, noticing this, moved to the other side of the sidewalk. Moments later, a figure swept by Tani and Yamada with speed.

Tani closed her eyes, but reopened them to see a figure on a skateboard, wearing a helmet, and boarding down the sidewalk in the same direction they walked. Tani pulled a book from her backpack and opened to a bookmarked page, reading.

"Oh, that Shoku-senpai," Yamada laughed. "He always knows how to make an entrance."

"A fairly annoying entrance," Tani muttered to herself. She personally thought Shoku's impulsiveness to be quite annoying, but as long as he did not bother her she supposed she could do nothing about it.

"Hey, there's the school!"

Tani looked up from her book to see a large two-story building covered in windows and white marble. Tani breathed out and kept focusing on her book, hardly paying attention to where she walked.

Tani breathed out and looked up for just a moment gazing at a girl with curly violet hair laughing with some other girls. The girl turned her head to Tani and waved. Tani waved back, but only slightly. The violet-haired girl laughed and flipped her hair with her fingers. Tani smiled faintly. The girl, although sociable and friendly, often acted as though she cared for Tani, though Tani had absolutely no idea as to why. The girl was always nice to Tani and always seemed to cheer her up. Tani shook her head and looked down at her book.

Tani's motion was halted as she crashed into something and fell back to the ground, dropping her book. She closed her eyes and shook her head. _That hurt,_ she thought to herself.

"Are you alright?" a somewhat deep male voice asked.

Tani opened her eyes and looked up to see a tall and masculine figure with short but shimmery black hair and golden eyes. He wore a black coat and had a defined chin with a fine face. Tani blinked as he bent down and grabbed her book from the ground with soft ease.

"Hey, you're Tanimachi-chan, right?" the boy asked, holding out his hand.

Tani cleared her throat and stood up on her own, without the boy's help. She wiped her pants with her hands and looked at the boy.

"Rona-senpai," she said quietly.

The boy smiled, but Tani looked away. She had absolutely no idea how to talk to people, most of all talk to the school's hottest and most athletic guy.

Rona cleared his throat. "I-I believe this is yours?" He handed the book to Tani, leaving it exactly on the page Tani had stopped.

She grabbed the book from Rona's hands and closed it, walking away. "Thank you, Rona-senpai. Have a good day."

"Yeah. See ya," Rona added.

As Tani walked into the school, she found herself sided by Yamada. "Onee-san, could you not be a little _sweeter_ towards Rona-senpai?"

Tani snorted in slight disbelief. "Why?" she challenged.

"You just should," Yamada replied.

"That's no viable explanation, Onee-chan," Tani grumbled. "Look, he does not care about me. So why should I care about him?"

Yamada grumbled but turned away. When she turned to look back at Tani, she had regained a cheerful expression.

"I'm hanging out with friends today after school, since it's the weekend, so I will walk home with them," she told her sister.

"Alright," Tani responded, half-paying attention. Tani continued onto her classroom, sitting down in her usual seat. As other people entered the classroom, Tani kept reading. Soon, the lessons had begun, though Tani still only half-paid attention because she already knew what was to be taught.

Tani continued throughout the school day and read her book, and the school day ended after what seemed like only a few minutes. Tani exited the school, without Yamada by her side. Though it felt strange not to walk with her sister, it was not uncommon; Yamada usually did so every Friday afternoon or every other Friday.

"Incoming!"

Tani spun around and moved quickly to the side to see a figure racing past her, wearing a cheerful expression. Two more figures followed. All three raced off on skateboards.

_Students,_ she thought to herself. _They _never _take this way home._ Though full of no social skills, Tani had always found herself to be very observant. She recognized the daily routines of everyone around her. Every day. But she never saw these three students skateboarding down the street at this time after school. They headed for the west.

_Huh, I have never seen that area much,_ Tani thought to herself, her curiosity getting the best of her. She followed the boys, walking just past her house, and stared at the end of the street, which led to the horizon. In the distance, she thought she saw many buildings all clustered together on the edge of town.

"So you see it, eh?"

Tani turned her head sharply to see an elderly gentleman wearing a hat, standing meters away from Tani.

"See….what?" she inquired. "Those buildings over there?"

"Yes," the elder replied. "Those buildings. That..._neighborhood_."

"I have lived here my whole life, and I never noticed that...what did you call it? A neighborhood?"

"Yes," the elder answered. "Toruto."

"What is it?" Tani asked.

"A dangerous and evil place," the elder said shakily.

Tani's eyelids drooped. Did he know what he was talking about? "Sounds pretty sketchy to me, Uburo-sama," she told him.

"No, Tani-chan," the elder assured. "That neighborhood is an evil place. No one who goes there returns. And those who live there are said to be strange beings with supernatural forms."

Tani bowed her head to the elder and turned to her own house, losing interest in the neighborhood immediately. "Well, thank you for the warning, Uburo-sama," she said, waving to the elder before entering her own house. As she walked up to her room and said a friendly hello to her mother, she thought about Urubo's words. His words seemed completely made-up and fantastical. Everyone knew that Urubo could often act crazy or insane-like, though he was a compassionate older gentleman.

Tani entered her room and threw her backpack aside, pulling out a textbook and beginning to read it as she sat in a chair in front of a white desk. Though, she found that she could not, for some strange reason, pay attention to the words she read. She could only think about Urubo's words and the neighborhood on the horizon. Her curiosity drove her, yet she kept trying to push it out of her mind. She eventually got to the point where she could not focus on either the book or the conversation, and she lulled herself to sleep with conflicting thoughts.

Tani woke up, sitting at the desk in her room, her textbook still open. Tani yawned and stretched, fingering through her hair. It did not feel messy, so she felt no need to brush through it this morning.

Tani stood up and stretched her arms and legs and changed her clothes into a long-sleeved black shirt and jeans, switching colors from yesterday's outfit. She walked down the stairs and walked outside her house, not really bothering to eat anything.

Tani looked around at her street and the activity going on. Urubo watered his grass. A woman named Kamakana cut the hedges on some bushes. A middle-aged couple walked along the street, waving to Tani as they walked by. Tani walked down the steps leading to her house and looked in the direction of the west. She faintly saw the dark outline of the buildings on the horizon.

Tani blinked, looking over at Urubo, who paid more attention to his yard than to her. Tani walked down the street. Normally, she headed for the east, but this time, she walked towards the west.

"Tani-chan?"

Tani spun around, startled by the voice, only to see Rona standing there, glaring at her with surprise.

"Where are you off to?" he asked. "Shouldn't you head downtown? Towards the east?"

"I have gone there enough times," Tani explained. "I would….I would like to explore a little is all." Tani hated telling other people about her adventurous side.

"I would not go there," Rona advised.

Tani sighed. "Why?" she asked. "You believe the rumors of that Toruto place are true?"

"I don't believe the rumors are true."

Tani smiled, glad she had made her point.

"I _know_ the rumors are true."

His words caught Tani off-guard. She turned back to Rona and stared at him as he glared back at her. Tani stared in confusion as Rona neared her with a mysterious look on his face.

"Trust me, you do _not_ want to go there," he strongly urged.

Rona slowly neared Tani, inching closer and closer. Feeling uncomfortable and strangely terrified, she pushed him back hard and closed her eyes. Nothing happened for a while, so Tani opened her eyes slowly, then opened them completely to see that Rona had disappeared. She rubbed her arms with her hands, feeling uncomfortable. Rona had looked at her with slight suspicion and urging, as if he did not want her to do as he asked.

Tani grunted and ignored the strange appearance of the teenage boy. She breathed out in relief and continued west. By the look on his face, Tani knew that Rona expected her to listen. But what he did not count on was her immense curiosity and adventurous personality. She would head to Toruto and explore it, wanting to disprove the rumors and theories about the darkness that it, so-called, possessed.

Tani kept on walking, the buildings and homes turning into open space and plains. Yet, she noticed that, as she neared Toruto, the buildings only appeared darker and darker, even as the sun kept on rising.

Tani blinked, suddenly beginning to feel uneasy. _What if the rumors are true?_ she thought, wondering if she should turn back. _What if I'm heading into a dark and evil place after all?_

Tani shook her head, disbelieving her thoughts. "Oh, you're just scaring yourself," she told herself with slight humor. "You need to look at this logically, Tani-san; there is an explanation for this ridiculous rumor. There always is."

Tani walked and walked, slowly beginning to feel tired as the sun reached its peak. But, by that time, Tani had neared the neighborhood enough to take a closer look at it. The buildings were dark because they had been created in dark-colored materials: dark concrete, shaded wooden doors, black stone and windowsills. It had a dark appearance because of the building materials.

Tani stepped onto a street, taking one step onto the asphalt-cobblestone road, before looking around. The street was eerily quiet. Too quiet. She could not spot a single soul at all. She began to wonder if the houses were abandoned.

_They have to be; otherwise I would have heard even a little sound,_ she convinced herself. She blinked and stretched her arms up, beginning to walk more casually on the street. It _did_ look abandoned; so why were there rumors about this place? Tani turned a corner and set her hands on the back of her head.

Something cracked nearby. Tani blinked and halted in her footsteps, looking around. Something seemed very eery about this place. She slowly turned around. _Well, maybe I have had my fun adventuring, and it's boring, so I will leave._

"Where you heading, smart one?"

Tani stopped and spun around, gazing around at the buildings around her. She blinked, fear slowly welling up in her mind.

"You know, you're a genius, and shouldn't a genius like you know better than to wander here?"

Tani spun around, spying a tall and figure with defined muscles and spiky orange hair. He hid in the shadows and leaned up against a wall, staring at Tani with devious yellow eyes.

Tani cleared her throat and turned around. "Well, I was just leaving and-"

"Why wait?" the figure suddenly appeared in front of Tani, as if using some kind of superspeed, and stared at her with a glowing gaze. In the clear light he looked like an older teenager. Tani backed away.

"How-?"

"You know sometimes it's really hard to resist your…._delicious_ scent," the teenager sneered with wickedness.

Tani's eyes widened and she walked around him with a quick pace, heading back in the direction of the main part of town. "Get away from me," she demanded with fear. "I-"

"You're Tanimachi-chan, right?"

The figure suddenly grabbed Tani's wrist. Tani stopped and pulled, but as she pulled his grip only tightened. She looked back at the figure to see him staring down at her with a strange and hungry gaze. His pupils suddenly turned into slits, and his eyes began to glow brightly. He pulled Tani closer to him, his mouth near her neck.

"You shouldn't have come here," he whispered dangerously but with a grin. "You let your curiosity get the best of you, eh? You know, I have never tasted human flesh before…."

Tani stared into the sky. What did that mean? Did he intend to become a cannibal? The teenager suddenly used his tongue, scratchy to the touch, and licked Tani's neck….

Tani had had just about enough. Quick to react, she using an open arm and elbowed the teenager hard in the face. He released his grip on her, covering his face with his hands.

"That hurt you _bitch_!" the teenager screamed, covering his face and eyes. Tani took her chance and ran off into the streets. She turned a corner as he screeched, "Guys, after her!"

Tani ran and ran, turning corner after corner, keeping in the darkness as best as she possibly could. She finally stopped herself from running by turning into an alley, keeping to the darkness. She gasped for breath for many seconds, trying her best to listen to what went on on the streets.

The wind rushed, and Tani felt a strange nearby presence. Tani's head swiveled and she found herself gazing at a familiar defined chin and shimmering black hair.

Tani's jaw gaped in astonishment. "Rona-senpai!" she whispered.

Rona stared back at Tani with a shocked gaze. "Tani-chan, what the hell are you doing here?" he asked.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she challenged quietly. "Nevermind, we have to get out of here." Tani grabbed Rona's wrist and looked out on the streets, pulling him as she saw an entrance.

"Stop, Tani-chan."

Tani stopped and looked back at Rona, confused. "Rona-senpai, why?" she asked in utter befuddlement. "Look, the rumors are true. You're right. But we have to get out of here before-"

Lights flickered on all around the neighborhood and quiet sirens blared. Rona pulled Tani back into the dark alleyway, clutching her tightly.

Fearful and confused, Tani looked up at Rona. "Senpai, what's going on?"

Rona looked around, his gaze becoming fierce and determined. And Tani also noticed that, slowly over time, Rona's pupils narrowed until they had become slits. Tani gasped inwardly. _Just like the strange older boy from earlier,_ she thought.

Rona looked down at Tani, his gaze completely neutral. "Tani-chan, we have to get you out-"

"Rona-senpai!"

The voice startled Tani, and before she knew it Rona had pushed her behind his body, shielding her behind him in the shadows. Tani moved her head to see a familiar girl standing with shoulder-length, curly violet hair, staring at Rona as though she were slightly pissed. Tani recognized the girl immediately.

_It's Mizuki-san, from my class..._

"Rona-senpai, do you not hear the alarms blaring you asshole?" Mizuki challenged with anger. "There's a human here!"

"I know," Rona responded quietly.

"What is with you?" Mizuki growled. "You're usually more excited than this to catch humans."

"Mizuki-chan?"

Mizuki stared at Rona and blinked. "What's with you?" she asked with suspicion in her tone.

Rona cleared his throat and stepped aside, showing a visible but shadowed Tani. Mizuki's jaw gaped wide open.

"_Tanimachi_-san?" Mizuki breathed. "Wha...what the hell are you doing here?"

Tani looked away. Mizuki suddenly flew up to Tani, a pair of bright and feathered wings sprouting from her body in moments. Tani glared at Mizuki in shock. _What_ had just happened to Mizuki?

"Tani-san, why are you here? You shouldn't be!" Mizuki scolded.

Tani found herself stammering greatly. "I-I-I'm s-sorry. I-I didn't m-mean-"

"Don't mind that, just let me get you," Mizuki responded. "I'll make it as quick and painless as possible. You will not feel a thing. It's the least I can do."

Tani stared at Mizuki in horror. What did she mean by that? Mizuki's right hand suddenly changed into that of a massive bird-reptile-like claw, and she raised it in the air. Tani screamed and covered her head.

"Mizuki-chan, I won't let you!" Rona screamed out.

Tani opened her eyes to see that Rona had put himself in front of Tani, defending her with open arms. Mizuki stared at Rona in disgust and disbelief.

"Rona-senpai, are you _serious_?" she scolded with fury. "We can't-!"

"Let her escape, I know," Rona responded sincerely. "It's impossible at this point. But at least we can give her sanctuary."

"Are you fucking insane?!" Mizuki yowled, both her hands turning into sharpened claws. "You know what would happen if-!"

"You think I don't?" Rona screamed back at her.

Mizuki turned away from Rona, her gaze full of pure disbelief. Rona looked back down at a confused Tani. He held out his hand to her.

"Tani-chan, will you take my hand?" he offered quietly and compassionately.

Tani blinked, uncertain but still frightened. She mustered all her strength to lift her hand and grab a hold of Rona's. As soon as she had a grip on him, Rona sped away, Tani followed. Rona looked back at Mizuki. "Keep watch," he ordered.

Mizuki snorted but followed the order and flew off in the other direction. Rona suddenly looked ahead and sped up. To Tani's amazement, Rona raced so fast through the streets that the buildings around her became merely a blur. Tani looked over at Rona. Just how fast was he running?

"Rona-senpai, where are we going?" Tani asked loudly.

"My place," he answered rather cheerfully.

Tani blinked. She did not honestly know whether to feel relieved or terrified by his answer.

Rona skidded to a halt in front of a dark concrete building with golden lining designs all over it. Rona quickly raced up the steps, Tani in hand, and opened the door. Rona pushed Tani inside and slammed it shut, keeping his strength on the door. Tani noticed that he had fallen silent, and that he seemed unusually intent on something. Tani felt a small but stinging sensation, and she looked down to see that she had a small cut on the top of her wrist.

"Rona-senpa-?"

"Hush," he told her, blinking, his gaze becoming once again intent. Tani covered her mouth with her hands, moving her head to the side.

"What is it?" she whispered.

Rona did not answer, although after a few moments of silence he breathed out in relief and looked over at Tani.

"It seems we're safe," he told her.

Tani's eyelids drooped with worry and confusion, and she quickly looked away from Rona. Movement in the nearby shadows made her squint her eyes with curiosity. A pair of golden eyes suddenly appeared in the shadows.

"We will have to keep on the look-out, though," Rona said, looking out the window by the door. "You never know if-"

Tani screamed, and Rona spun around to see that a young girl with curly blonde hair had jumped right on Tani, sharp fangs bared as the little girl struggled to bite Tani. Tani tried to push the girl off, but the newcomer's strength far outmatched her own. Her fangs neared her arm, and sank into Tani's flesh moments later. Tani screamed in pain.

"Stop!" Rona screeched, quickly rushing to Tani's side in a burst of speed, quickly yanking the girl off of Tani. The little girl kept struggling to reach for Tani with hungry, slit golden eyes. Tani backed away.

"Netami-chan, knock it off!" Rona scolded angrily, holding the little girl with incredible strength. The girl kept struggling. "Stop struggling! Don't make me hurt you!"

The girl did not stop struggling, and in moments, Rona quickly grabbed the girl's neck and twisted it sharply, snapping it, and creating a horrible cracking down. Tani screamed in horror and covered her mouth as the girl crumbled to the floor, unmoving.

Tani looked up at Rona, shocked and appalled. "What….what have you _done_?" she demanded frighteningly. "You just _killed_ her! Why would you do that?"

"Don't worry, she will wake up," Rona grumbled, closing his eyes, looking thoughtful. "She'll be pissed at me, but she will hopefully be able to better control herself." Rona opened his eyes and looked at Tani, his gaze full of concern. "Did she bite you?"

Tani blinked and looked at her arm, next to her wrist and the small cut on the top of it. There were two small bite marks, but they did not look large or infected. She blinked, surprised. Those wounds should have drawn some blood.

"Honestly, Netami-chan cannot control herself," Rona grumbled, grabbing some bandages from a nearby table and wrapping Tani's wrist with them. "But she's the youngest, so I guess it's understandable. It's easy for me to withstand, thank God."

Tani blinked with slight surprise. "Youngest….wait, is that girl related to you?" she inquired.

Rona looked at the little girl. "Netami-chan? Yeah, she's my youngest sister."

Tani's jaw gaped. Not only had he snapped the neck of a little girl, but he had snapped the neck of his younger _sister_?

"I know what you're thinking," Rona said simply. "Why would I snap the neck of my Onee-chan? Don't worry, I have done it before. And, I hate to admit it, but she has done it to me before as well." Rona chuckled to himself, finishing the bandaging of Tani's wrist.

Tani stared at Rona. "But, how do you-?"

"Survive it?" Rona finished. "That's a lot to explain."

A sudden knock at the door prompted Rona to spin around and narrow his eyes. He quickly pushed Tani aside into another room, though she carefully peeked out and watched as he stealthily walked toward the front door. Rona suddenly grabbed the doorknob and hurled the door open. He breathed in relief seconds later.

"It's just you," he gasped.

"Of course it is!" a somewhat deep female voice answered. "What makes you think we were someone else?"

"Onii-san really should stop being suspicious of everyone," a young male voice added humorously.

Tani watched as two figured entered the house, at the request of Rona. A woman with longer curly hair like Netami with golden eyes and a very feminine body walked side by side inside with a younger boy, about eleven or twelve, with golden eyes and longer black hair wearing a cheerful expression on his face. They took a few steps inside the house upon the sight of Netami's body on the ground.

Tani waited for a shocked reaction, but none came. Instead, the woman slapped her hand to her forehead and asked, with slight frustration, "Ro-kun, why do you have to argue with your sister so often?"

"I had a good reason," Rona grumbled with slight irritation.

"You really got Netami-chan this time," the boy laughed cheerfully. "Looks like you did not need to put up much of a fight!"

"Kizo-kun, do not encourage your brother," the woman begged in a whiny voice.

The boy shrugged his shoulders, and Tani saw, fearfully, that the woman headed for the room where she hid, looking back at Rona. "Ro-kun, you will have to apologize to your sister when she wakes-"

Tani could not move as the woman's breasts crashed into Tani, making her plummet to the ground. She shook her head and looked up as the woman looked down at Tani, extremely surprised and curious.

"Ro-kun, who is….this?" she asked with intent curiosity, bending down to look closer at Tani.

"Shit!" Rona whispered. He quickly entered the room and cleared his throat. "M-Mom, this is Tanimachi-chan. From school."

The woman blinked, slightly uncertain. Her eyes suddenly brightened up and she said cheerily, "Of course, of course! Tami-chan, right? Oh, you're even cuter in person!"

"It's Ta_n_i-chan, mother," Rona grumbled, his face becoming a little red. "Don't embarrass her."

Somehow, Tani thought the compliment embarrassing, but she also thought the compliment flattering, too. Except by her parents, she had never been called cute before.

"Great, you have got mother hooked on the human," a little voice said with appallment. Tani moved her head to see Netami craning her head and stretching it. Tani's mouth gaped open.

The woman blinked. "H-human?" She looked back at Tani, her pupils slowly turning into slits.

"Rika-sama, not now," Rona asked.

The woman's pupils stopped narrowing, but did not enlarge either. Instead, she looked to Rona's direction, and she giggled and closed her eyes. "Oh, Ro-kun! You're so cute when you're defensive!"

Rona's cheeks turned fiery red once again. "Mother!"

Rika giggled and Netami approached Tani. "Why in the hell are you here, _human_?" she questioned furiously in a small voice, her fangs enlarging.

Tani backed away as Netami neared her. Suddenly Rona stepped in between them, arms open defensively, just as he had done earlier with Mizuki.

"Back _off_, Netami-chan," he snarled.

Tani blinked. She had never heard such fury coming from the handsome teenager before. This was a new side she, or anyone else at the school, had probably never really seen.

"Oh, Ro-kun," Rika chuckled lightly, her melodic voice full of compassion and understanding. "You know, I remember when Majime-san did the exact thing to me as a high-schooler. He stopped some others from attacking me, and he defending me so bravely…"

Rona's jaw gaped open. "Mother, not another story from your childhood!" he gaped.

Netami laughed mischievously, and Rika continued. "Oh, I think it's so sweet that you want to defend Tami-chan. Majime-san did the same with me. Oh, how brave your father always was."

"Rika-sama!" Rona breathed in disbelief.

Tani, confused, piped up for the first time in the conversation. "What, what exactly is happening?"

"God, you really are slow, aren't you?" Netami teased rudely.

"Shut _up_, Onee-chan!" Rona snapped.

Rika slowly neared Tani and whispered with chipper words, "Tami-chan, I do believe that Ro-kun likes you!"

Now it was Tani's turn to blush red with embarrassment. She and Rona exchanged a glance but quickly looked away from each other.

"Rona-senpai, Tani-chan, sittin' in a tree!" Netami sang tunefully with an edge. "K-I-S-S-!"

"You say that one more time and I will snap your neck again!" Rona shouted.

"Rona-senpai, Netami-chan, cut it out!" the boy, Kizo, put in with a slight whine.

Tani shook her head in disbelief. This family argued like crazy. Before she could think anything else, the door flew open and the wind rustled with a powerful force. Tani, Rika, Rona, Netami, and Kizo turned their heads to see a tall figure enter the door. Tani blinked and reverted back to a fearful state upon seeing the red hair, defined muscles, piercing golden eyes, and serious expression. She peeped fearfully.

The figure, a grown man, entered the room and slammed the door behind him, grumbling, "Are you all deaf?" he inquired in a serious and deep tone. "Do you not hear the alarms?"

"Majime-san, please don't be angry," Rika piped up, smiling faintly.

The man raised an eyebrow, and Tani faintly noticed that his nostrils flared. His eyes widened and he looked around the house.

"There's human here!" he said with alarm and fury. "Where? Where at?"

Tani had suddenly grown afraid of this strange man. For a single moment his gaze washed over her, but she wondered if he scanned the area too quickly for him to notice her.

Suddenly the man sped in a direction, grabbing Tani by the neck and lifting her off the ground. Tani felt the air slowly leaving her lungs, and she struggled to breathe.

"You think you can sneak in here, eh?" the man snarled. "Well, you're not getting past _me_ this time." Tani barely noticed that the man's pupils turned into slits in a matter of seconds.

"Dad, stop it!" Rona shot forward, yanking the man's hand away from Tani's neck. Tani crumpled to the floor on her knees and coughed hard.

The man glared at Rona with a furious stare. "Rona-kun, release me immediately!" the man shouted.

"No way, Dad!" Rona yelled back. "I won't let you hurt Tani-chan!"

"What?!" Rona's father growled in disbelief. "Have you no honor?"

"I have the honor to protect the one I love!"

The two stopped struggling, Rona's father staring at his son in the eyes, his pupils slowly enlarging. Tani stared as the two released each other, Rona's father staring at Rona in shock.

"What did you just say?" he inquired dangerously.

Tani looked at Netami, who rolled her eyes. Kizo stared at Rona, jaw gaped open. Rika still had a smile on her face, and had an expression that read _I was right!_

Rona spread out his arms and protected Tani, standing over her. "I won't let you hurt her," he growled.

Rona's father looked back and forth between his son and Tani, his gaze slowly becoming more and more disgusted. He spun around.

"Majime-san, dear, this may sound a bit strange, but this is the first time I have resisted biting a human," Rika added cautiously.

Majime halted in his footsteps and turned to Rika, utterly surprised. He looked back at Tani, who slowly backed away, still on the floor. Rona helped her onto her feet in moments.

Majime narrowed his eyes, staring at Tani, but spun around and left without another word. Tani looked at Rona, jerking her hands away from his grip, and shouted, "Will someone please tell me what is going on?!"

Rona looked at Rika, who shrugged her shoulders. He then turned his attention to Kizo and Netami. Kizo smiled, but Netami shook her head with alarm. Rona clearly ignored this and turned back to Tani.

"Look, first the guy who attacked me is incredibly fast, then Mizuki sprouts wings from her _body_! And _then_ I get bitten by strange people I don't even know who have powerful strength that seems impossible to possess! Would someone explain to me all that?"

Rona opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. And Tani had not finished. "And I do not understand how you all have the same colored eyes or pupils that turn into slits! That's not humanly possible, and I want an explanation-!"

Rona silenced Tani by putting a finger on her mouth. He blinked and backed away.

"This is why we keep humans away from this neighborhood, from Toruto," Rona responded.

Tani blinked and stared at Rona. "Why do you use the word _human_ so tightly?" she asked, anger slowly welling up within her.

"Tani-chan, the residents of this neighborhood are _not_ human."

Tani blinked, her eyes slowly widening with disbelief. She looked away and narrowed them, suddenly finding herself curious.

"W-well," she stammered. "I-I guess that makes more sense now that you say it that way…."

"Wow, not the human reaction we usually get," Netami pointed out with faint surprise.

"Usually?" Tani echoed quietly. "Wait, does that mean other people have come here before?"

"That's right," Kizo answered.

"But, how come no one knows?"

Rona and Rika exchanged a glance, before turning back to Tani, their gazes uncertain. Tani demanded an answer and she wanted a full explanation, no matter what the cost.

"Tani-chan…"

The strange tone of Rona's voice frightened Tani, as if she were about to learn something dangerous and terrifying.

Rona breathed in. "Tani-chan, if any human finds out about the neighborhood, they're immediately killed."

Tani backed up, running into a counter, shocked and horrified at the news she had just been told.

"K-k-killed?" she stammered.

"If anyone learns we are giving sanctuary to a human being, we will be killed on sight along with you," Rona added.

"B-but, why?"

"That's just how the monster demon world looks like," Rona explained.

Tani blinked. "Monsters and demons?" she echoed quietly in disbelief.

"Toruto is a place for monsters and demons to gather and live without persecution or discovery by human beings," Rona explained.

"Monsters and demons," Tani echoed again.

"That's why we kill the humans," Kizo explained somewhat loosely, though he wore an uneasy expression. "Although, most of us are violent, while others really aren't."

"Like, like you?" Tani asked.

"Personally, I don't like killing humans," Kizo admitted, looking away. "That's why I go to a human school. Same as Rona-senpai, Shimo-kun, and Asha-senpai."

"Why?" Tani asked somewhat shakily, curious about the names but even more curious about their reasons.

"God, you're _slow_!" Netami snapped.

"Shut up!" Rona snapped, glaring at Netami. "Or I'll break your neck again!"

"You will do nothing of the sort, Ro-kun!" Rika warned.

Rona growled and looked away, banging his head against the wall.

Tani opened her mouth to speak, but a familiar yet faint voice prompted her to go near the door, staring through her glasses and walking toward the front window, looking outside. She quickly spotted the boy from earlier that had first attacked her. Tani quickly backed away and gasped.

"Tani-chan, what is it?" Rona asked worriedly.

Tani's gaze flickered to the door. "Outside," she answered with a whisper.

Rona, confused, looked outside the window casually, blinking as he noticed the four figures that stood outside.

"It's Sasu-san, and his band of jackasses," Rona commented, his eyes beginning furrowed.

"It's _him_," Tani said, eyes widening and voice growing quieter.

"What's him?"

"He's the one who attacked me earlier."

Rona looked outside, then at Tani, and back outside. "Back it up," he said. "Was he the one chasing you?"

"Sasu-senpai must have raised the alarm," Netami pointed out seriously.

"So what do we do?" Kizo asked.

"Hide, and hide well."

Something knocked loudly at the door. Tani spun around, staring at the door.

"Tani-chan, hide quickly!" Rona whispered in alarm.

"Tani-senpai, this way!" Kizo grabbed Tani's wrist and pulled her deeper into the house, going through many twists and turns before running up some stairs. Kizo pulled Tani into a room and sat down, looking around.

"We can hear everything from here." Kizo pointed to a small hole. Tani looked down to see a duct. Though she could not see anything, she she could hear everyone going on downstairs.

"Sasu-san? That you?" Rona asked loudly.

"Rona-san? Hey, open up!" a familiar but faint voice answered.

Tani heard the sound of a door opening, and Rona's voice piped up. "Sasu-san, you stink of human. Seriously?"

"No better than you!" the familiar voice of Sasu retorted, sounding louder than before. "You always stink of human every weekday!"

"You never do!" Rona snapped. "What's going on?"

"Humans. One came into Toruto," Sasu explained.

"You need our help?" Rona offered.

"Yes and no, Rona-san," Sasu replied with a suspicious tone. "I caught the human's scent on the way in, and I followed it here."

"Sure you're not confusing it with my dad's scent?" Rona suggested.

"Huh?"

"Yeah. Majime-sama just returned home."

"Oh," Sasu replied sheepishly.

"Yes, remember that Majime-sama always comes home from the city," Rika added.

"Yeah, yeah, right."

"You sure you followed the scent here?" Rona asked questioningly.

"Maybe, but, I don't know…."

"Humans all smell alike," Netami pointed out indignantly.

"True," Sasu agreed.

"Sasu-san, let's go!"

"I have to go."

"You sure you do not need any help?" Rona asked.

"Nah. She may have escaped Toruto, but don't worry; we know it's Tanimachi-chan. And we know where to find her. _And_ her family…." Footsteps raced away, and the door closed moments later.

Sasu's last words created a chill down Tani's side. What had they meant by that? How did Sasu know her? And her family? And where she lived?

Tani quickly raced out, ignoring Kizo's outburst, and jumped down the stairs, nearly falling over as the family all looked in her direction.

"Rona-senpai," she gasped. "Wh-what did Sasu mean by that? About my family?"

Rona looked at his mother quickly, who answered. "Tami-chan, dear, I think they are going to try and find you by heading for your family."

Shocked, Tani asked, "Why the hell why?"

"Because you have discovered us," Rona explained. "Because they strongly believed you ran away and went home and told your family….and no one here wants humans to know about us."

"My family is home by now!" Tani cried in alarm. "They'll get killed!"

"There's nothing we can-"

"No!" Tani shouted. "We can get my family out and run away! We can escape! You have to bring me to them!"

"Someone will notice, Tani-chan," Rona scolded lightly. "We cannot risk-"

"I do not care!" Tani yowled, tears shooting from her eyes. "We have to save them! _We have to!_ They're the only real family I have!"

Rona looked at Rika, who looked back at her son. They each wore confused and alarmed expressions.

"Rona-senpai?" a muffled voice asked behind a door. "You home?"

Rona spun around and opened the door. Mizuki stood at the doorway, her gaze slightly wide.

"Rona-senpai, everything is berserk on the streets," Mizuki explained with faint alarm in her voice.

"Mizuki-chan, I hate to ask this of you, but can you take Tani-chan back to her home?" Rona begged.

Mizuki backed away, surprised. "What? Why?"

"Sasu-san is going after her family."

Mizuki looked at Tani. She breathed out and glared at Tani in understanding. "So you heard?" she asked. "Look, I would help, but it is useless to-"

"It's _not_!" Tani sobbed. "Take me home _now_!"

Mizuki grumbled and grabbed Tani by the wrist, dragging her outside. Wings sprouted quickly from Mizuki's back, golden and feathered. The violet-haired girl's hands changed into claws and Mizuki grabbed Tani by her arms, taking off into the sky.

"You owe me for this, Tani-san!" Mizuki called down in annoyance.

Tani did not reply, she only waited as Mizuki flew higher up into the sky, before changing course and flying towards Sakuma. They flew for some time, Tani trying not to look down as she thought she would scream if she did. Tani looked down after a while, and noticed the familiar street that her house belonged to.

"Mizuki-san!" Tani called up desperately. "Down there! That's where my house-!"

"Tani-chan, I _know_ where you live, remember?" Mizuki scolded.

Tani blinked. She did certainly not remember, but did not argue as Mizuki quickly and swiftly lowered Tani to the ground, her wings quickly sinking into her back.

"Glad no one saw that," Mizuki mumbled, flipping her hair with her hands.

Tani ignored Mizuki and raced for her house, opening the door. It was locked.

Tani reached in her pocket and grabbed a key, using it to unlock the door to the house. She opened the door and looked inside.

_No forcible entry,_ she thought to herself, relieved. _They mustn't have come yet. Maybe they do not even know where I live._

"Tani-san?" Mizuki entered the house, looking around. "Let's hurry and get your family out or whatever."

Tani nodded and turned a corner, heading into the kitchen. She came to a dead halt and screamed in horror.

Laying on the kitchen was her mother's body, her eyes dull and colorless and her throat slit. Her father lay near her, stabbed fatally in the chest and abdomen. Blood covered the entire floor.

"_MOM! DAD!_" Tani screamed, racing for the bodies of her parents. A powerful force stopped her and held her back from ever reaching her parents.

"Tani-san, calm down!" Mizuki shouted. "I warned you that you could not do anything to prevent this!"

"Yamada-chan," Tani suddenly said. "Yamada-chan, my sister _has_ to be alive." Tani tore herself away from Mizuki and raced away, up some stairs, into her own room. Nothing.

"_Yamada-chan_!" Tani shouted, racing into her sister's room. She screamed as soon as she looked inside.

Yamada sat at her desk, her mouth oozing blood and her head laying on the desk. Her legs had become splayed out, and her arms hung like that of a ragdoll. She had a large concussion on her head, and Tani could see some faint brain material remaining inside. Her neck looked bruised and bloody, and she sat completely lifeless.

"Y-Y…" Words could not escape Tani's mouth. She raced for her sister but halted. The scent of her sister's dead body wafted around her, and she covered her mouth, disgusted and horrified. Her knees slowly crumpled to the ground, and she covered her face, sobbing tearfully.

A hand slowly put itself on Tani's shoulder. She slowly turned her head to see Mizuki looked down at her, then at Yamada's lifeless body, her face uneasy.

"Tani-san, I warned you," she scolded lightly and quietly. "I _warned_ you, and you did not listen. I should have killed you when I had the chance. You would not have to grieve like this."

Tani's eyes widened. Mizuki really planned on killing her? She slowly turned her head as Mizuki breathed out in disbelief.

"But Rona-senpai would _kill_ me if I did that," she told herself. "Literally. So I should bring you back."

"No," Tani sobbed. "Leave me here. Leave me here to die. I will die with them."

"No you're not."

Tani and Mizuki swiveled around to see Rona's figure standing in the doorway, looking as though he forced himself to avoid looking at Yamada.

"Look, I know you're upset and grieving, but-"

"Rona-senpai, leave me to die!" Tani shouted. "I do not care that you love me! I don't _care_! It's my fault for entering Toruto that my family is dead. It's my fault….All my fault…."

"Tani-chan, do not blame yourself," Rona urged with concern, setting his hand on Tani's other shoulder.

"But I _do_ blame myself. It _is_ my fault…."

"Tani-chan, that's a lie and you know it," Rona scolded.

Tani, surprised, looked up at Rona.

"The point of being alive is being prepared to die for those you love. Whether we think it true or not, everyone is _always_ ready to die for the ones they love," he told her softly.

"I'm ready to die for my family, to be with them," Tani sobbed quietly.

"And what about those you will leave behind?"

Tani blinked, closing her eyes. "No one cares about me," she pointed out sorrowfully.

"That's not true," Rona told her. "_I_ care about you. And, I know she will not admit it, but Netami-chan cares about you, too. And my mother. And Kizo."

Tani looked up at Rona, shocked. "You….do?"

"Yes."

Tani looked at her sister's lifeless body once more, closing her eyes. She could not bear to look at Yamada one more time. Instead she looked up at the ceiling, hoping her sister looked down on her, along with her parents.

_You don't even believe in heaven or God, so why look up?_ Yamada would ask her. Tani smiled as he sister's voice rang in her ears.

"Tani-san, we have to go," Mizuki told her.

Tani sniffled in and slowly stood up. "Can I not stay here any longer?" she begged.

Rona shook his head. "It's too dangerous," he told her softly. "Sasu-san clearly knows you were not here, and he would quickly come back."

"Can I leave the city?" she asked.

"Sorry, that's a no too," Mizuki answered. "Toruto residents will be patrolling city limits. Everyone knows who you are."

"What do you mean?" Tani questioned in shock.

"Toruto residents take time to, as quickly as possible, memorize the name and face of every resident here," Rona explained. "Believe it or not, but a lot of people know you're name and face, and they will quickly look for you."

Tani looked down. She had not known that. But now that she did, the idea of it just frightened her.

"We must leave," Rona told her. Tani looked away, but Rona helped her up with his strength and stared face-to-face with her.

"You might kick my ass for this, but I want to make you feel better," Rona said. Before Tani could say anything, Rona reached forward and his lips touched hers as they shared a single kiss. Normally, Tani would push him away, but somehow the kiss itself soothed her. She closed her eyes and let his warmth spread over her.

"Let's go, lovers," Mizuki chirped. "We cannot waste any more time."

Rona leaned back, his lips leaving Tani's. Tani wiped her eyes as he grabbed Rona's arm, and the boy quickly raced down the stairs and out of the house, putting Tani on her back.

"You had better hold on tight, because this is about to get fast," he warned.

Tani nodded and closed her eyes, holding on tightly to Rona's chest and neck by wrapping her arms around his body. Suddenly Rona shot forward, and all Tani noticed was how quickly the wind surged around her. She felt the incredible speed and almost relished in it, until she remembered what had just happened. She thought about the images that had become burned into her mind, and she shut her eyes even tighter.

The wind around her suddenly stopped, and she opened her eyes to find herself in front of Rona's house. He let her down and she wiped her shirt. It had taken Rona mere moments, less than a minute, even, to reach Toruto. It had taken her forty minutes. Just how fast was he?

Rona grabbed Tani's arm and slowly brought her into the house. Tani walked at a slow pace, her feet feeling weak. As soon as she had entered Rona's house, Tani found herself gasping for breath. She faintly noticed Rika standing up after sitting on a nearby couch.

"Ro-kun, Tami-chan, are you alright?" Rika asked worriedly.

"I tried to tell her, Rika-sama," Mizuki added from behind.

Rona threw Mizuki a glare before turning back to Rika. Tani was embraced by Rona's body as he said, "We did not make it."

Rika breathed out, and soon Majime entered the room, staring at Tani. He sighed in slight disbelief.

"Rona-kun, I do not think this is a good idea," he warned in his deep voice.

"I don't care," Rona replied defiantly, rubbing Tani's head with his hand. "I will protect my Tani-chan no matter what."

Tani blinked, uncaring about Rona's spoken words.

"Well, I will have to leave," Mizuki sighed. "Call me if you need me; I'll be around."

"Wait."

Mizuki turned around and faced Tani, curiosity glowing in her eyes.

"Mizuki-san, I know every resident here is a monster or demon," she said with a slight rasp. "So what….are you?"

Mizuki blinked. "I'm a griffin," she answered. "Well, at least, I'm half-griffin. That's why my wings are golden and feathered."

"So you turn into a griffin?"

"Uh-huh. Though I rarely go through a full-body transformation."

"Why not?"

"None of your business, Tani-chan," Mizuki mumbled, leaving the house. Her back sprouted wings and she took off, with Kizo closing the door after her.

Tani blinked, looking at Rona and his family. "You look human," she noted.

"Most of us do," Netami piped up. "Some look more like humans than others. Some of us don't really _have_ human-like forms."

"You're not humans, so what are you?" Tani asked.

Netami looked at Kizo with an exasperated look and stared back at Tani. "Seriously?" she said. "I will say it and I will say it one more time: You...Are...God...Damn..._Slow!_"

"Netami-chan!" Rona snapped.

"Think about it!" Netami added, ignoring her older brother. "Fangs, biting, speed, strength, _get the picture_?!"

Tani blinked, and she looked at Rika, who stared at her, her pupils slowly turning into slits.

"Mother…" Rona mumbled.

Without warning, Rika shot forward, right at Tani, and stuck her teeth into Tani's neck. Tani shrieked and yelled.

"Mother, cut it out!" Rona shouted.

Rika pushed herself back, closing her eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Rika apologized with alarm. "I did not intend to! But….your blood just tastes so good."

"Let's go find a _real_ meal, mother," Kizo sighed with exasperation.

"My blood?" Tani echoed, ignoring Kizo's comment. "What does-?"

Tani fell silent as the family entered the kitchen, chattering about dinner and food. Rona looked back at Tani and said, "You coming?"

Tani nodded as the faint realization of it all hit her. As she followed Rona, thoughts spiral through her head.

_Vampires,_ she thought in disbelief. _I am staying. With a family of vampires._


	2. Love Triangle

"Tami-chan, come down here!"

Tani slowly opened her eyes, sitting up in bed. She could almost hear her mother's voice, and feel her blankets. She grabbed her violet glasses from a nearby table and put them on, blinking. When she opened her eyes fully, she blinked to see a somewhat darker and smaller room. She shook, until she remembered.

Two days ago, Tani had wandered into the outskirts of Sakuma, discovering the neighborhood Toruto, where monsters and demons lived. Tani's family wound up dead because of Tani's discovery, and now Tani lived with the Tenma family, residents of the neighborhood.

Tani hopped out of bed and slowly went down the stairs, wearing a comfortable pair of green pajama pants along with a yellow top. She then entered the kitchen, where a woman with curly blonde hair stood at a stove, cooking something.

"Mother, her name is Ta_n_i-chan, not Tami-chan!" a boy with slick black hair grumbled.

The woman giggled. "Sorry, Ro-kun!" the woman apologized, though she sounded as though she did not really mean it. "But Tami-chan sounds better!"

The boy grumbled, and Tani assured him, "Oh, it's okay, Rona-senpai. I really don't mind."

"Well, _I_ mind," Rona pointed out.

Tani breathed out and looked around to where four other children sat with Rona at a table, all very different ages. The oldest girl, who looked just a little younger than Rona, had short and poofy red hair. The next oldest was a boy wearing longer black hair and a friendly expression. The third oldest was another boy with short red hair and small strands sitting in front of his ears. And the youngest at the table sat a girl with curly blonde hair, like Rona's mother, who carried an irritated gaze on her face.

Despite their different appearances, they all bore golden eyes. That was, after all, the natural color for vampire eyes, a color which she did not bear.

"Hello, Tami-chan!" the woman greeted.

Tani smiled and greeted in return, "Hello, Rika-sama."

"Have a good night's sleep?" Rika asked.

"Better than the night before," Tani responded truthfully.

"Well, I'm glad that you said that, because we have big plans today!" Rika said.

Tani responded. She hated surprises. "Define _big plans_."

"Mother, please don't," Rona begged with a groan.

"Oh, come now, Ro-kun!" Rika snapped lightly. "I have planned this for a long time already!"

"Exactly what is the plan?" Tani repeated.

"Right, right," Rika said bashfully, going back to the conversation at hand. "Here is the deal: you cannot hide here forever and stay cooped up. Trust me, I know what that's like, and I _hated_ it!"

"How-? Nevermind," Tani interjected.

"So the plan is to completely reoutfit you!" Rika finished.

Tani's jaw dropped.

"And of course, that is not all!" Rika added. "You need to learn to blend in to Toruto now, so we are changing your entire persona!"

Tani's jaw dropped even further. Rika wanted to do…._what_ now?!

"Rika-sama, I told you to take it one step at a time!" Rona whined angrily.

"Sorry, Ro-kun!"

Tani shook her head. "W-w-wait, how exactly are we going to do that?" she asked indignantly.

"First, we need to change your appearance and your clothing," Rika replied. "And give you a new name. That will have to do."

"Ch-change m-my appearance?" Tani echoed.

"Oh, it's not that stupid plastic surgery kind of thing," the younger girl with curly blonde hair said rudely. "Just change your appearance a little!"

"Stop saying retarded things like that, Netami-chan!" Rona scolded the little girl.

The little girl, Netami, stuck her tongue out at Rona and swiftly turned her head away like a diva. Rona looked like he wanted to snap her neck again.

"So, how will you do this?" Tani asked.

"Well, first breakfast!" Rika answered, staring at Tani. Tani blinked and she quickly noticed that Rika's pupils began to narrow. Tani looked at Rona, then back at his mother. Rona's eyes widened and he stood up swiftly, putting himself between Tani and Rika.

"Mother, how about we skip breakfast today?" Rona suggested rapidly.

Rika looked up. "Well….I guess." Rika left the stove, leaving four irritated children sitting at the table. Tani noticed that Rika look back at them, and they all fell silent. Rika looked back at Tani with a delightful expression.

"It will be interesting calling you my daughter!" Rika said delightfully.

"No daughter of mine," a deep voice retorted.

Tani turned her head to see a man standing in the darkness of the hallway with short red hair and golden eyes glaring at her. Tani gulped.

"H-hello, Majime-sama," she greeted to Rona's father.

"Majimaji-san, stop intimidating her!" Rika implored cheerfully. "It's not funny!"

Majime shrugged his shoulders and turned away. Tani looked back at Rika.

"Mother that is _not_ the story we had planned," Rona grumbled.

Tani grunted. "Okay, what _is_ the story you had planned?" she questioned.

"You're a distant cousin of ours, and your folks went missing," Rona explained. "You came to stay with us because you have not see the Tenmas in years."

"I thought you said every vampire is a Tenma?" Tani questioned suspiciously.

Rona looked away and blushed. "W-well, _most_ vampires have the last name Tenma, but a few select families don't."

"And you don't think anyone will think that strange?" Tani growled, slapping her hand to her forehead. "Did you really think _any_ of this through?"

"Still working out the details!" Rona replied.

"Well think of better details!"

Rika chuckled. Rona and Tani both looked at Rika. "Oh, you two are fighting just like an old couple," she said humorously.

Rona and Tani looked back at one another, and quickly looked away. Tani could have sworn that her cheeks flushed red.

"Now, Tami-chan, I will let _you_ choose your new name," Rika said. "Anything you want."

Tani blinked, suddenly looking thoughtful. She had never thought of it before. She had never imagined that she would ever have needed to change her name. She could not even remember a time when she thought one name was prettier than her real name.

"I understand this is a sudden change to think about, and in so little time, but I will give you time to think," Rika informed softly.

"I may have to," Tani responded. "So, how do we change my persona?"

"First, you need a haircut."

Tani's eyes widened and she looked at her long black hair. "Wait, _cut_ my hair?"

"Child, you have nothing to worry about!" Rika assured.

"Just how short?"

"Much shorter."

Tani groaned. This had to be a nightmare. She had not had short hair since she was three. _Literally_. She had hated short hair for years.

"Trust me when I say that shorter hair is _much_ easier to manage, and I could see you with shorter hair!" Rika pointed out. "Trust me, I really could!"

"And black is a good color for vampire hair," Rona added. "I will be honest in saying that I thought your hair was dark brown, until I was told otherwise."

"Really?" Tani asked in slight surprise.

"Yeah," Rona replied. "It will look more black when it's shorter."

"Well….if you're all _sure_," Tani said, trying to convince herself. Rika grabbed a pair of large scissors and said, "No turning back now!"

Tani closed her eyes as Rika snipped the scissors. Before she felt her hair getting cut, Rona suddenly piped up, "Wait, Rika-sama! Remember what happened the _last_ time you handled scissors near a human?"

"Um…."

"Mother, let me get the main part," Rona assured. "You can handle the styling later."

Rika groaned, and Tani heard her transferring the scissors into Rona's hand. Rona then grabbed a chunk of Tani's hair and, in seconds, cut the large chunk off. She did not know how short it was, but her head certainly felt lighter.

"You can…..really cut hair well?" Tani asked Rona, keeping her eyes closed.

"Believe it or not, yeah," Rona replied. "Rika-sama used to be a human's hair stylist."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but that was years ago. Last few times she cut and styled human hair, let's just say she almost went berserk," he joked.

"That bad?"

"Yupp."

"And Rika-sama taught you to style hair?"

"How do you think my hair always stays handsome?"

Tani chuckled to herself as she heard the snip-snip-snip of scissors, her head feeling lighter and lighter with each snip.

"Alright, that's all I will get," Rona finally said. "Rika-sama can get the rest with her styling abilities."

Tani nodded and opened her eyes. She breathed out.

"Now, have you noticed any key feature about vampires?" Rona asked her. "Any physical trait?"

Tani pointed to his eyes. "They're all golden."

Rona nodded his head. "That's right. Vampires have the signature golden eyes," he agreed. "Yours are brown. Too dark. So that's why I walked around yesterday getting you these." Rona handed Tani a small package he had pulled out of his pants pocket. Tani grabbed it and opened it, seeing a small case with what looked like clear liquid in it.

"Um, what is this?" she inquired in confusion.

"I think you mean what _are_ those," Rona corrected. "Gold-colored contacts."

Tani blinked. "C-contacts?" she breathed in disbelief. "B-but-?"

"Tani-chan, please do _not_ argue," Rona grumbled, looking down and grabbing her hands. "Just trust me, okay?"

Tani _did_ trust Rona for some strange reason. Tani, using one hand, took off her glasses and set them away, her vision becoming very blurry. She blinked and fingered through the liquid, pulling out a little rubber-like disc. Tani stared at it, breathing out. Then, she attempted to put it in her eye.

Tani felt surprised when her eye immediately responded. She closed the eye without the contact and saw that she could see everything perfectly clear. Tani grabbed the other contact and attempted to put it in her other eye. It fell out, and Tani grumbled. She cleaned it and attempted again, this time having it fall on her pants. Tani groaned and tried for a third time. Then a fourth, and a fifth, and a sixth. Tani groaned out loud with frustration. Rona just chuckled nearby.

"One more try." Tani attempted one more time to put the contact in her eye and saw that it went onto her eye perfectly and she blinked several times. She looked around, amazed and appalled. She was seeing perfectly with her eyes, without the use of glasses, for the first time in her life.

"Not bad, right?" Rona said cheekily.

"Shut up." Tani pushed Rona on his back with her hand. Rona laughed.

"Ready to have your hair styled?" Rika asked behind her. When Tani nodded her head, she saw out of the corner of her eye Rika pulling out many different objects to assist her with the styling.

"Look, you need to dump your outfits, too," Rona told her.

"Rona-senpai, I already did that," she reminded. "When I left my house."

Rona cleared his throat and nodded, looking at Rika. "Mother, do you still have all those outfits in the closet?"

"Sure do, Ro-kun," Rika responded with a sign. "I had always hoped they would fit me again, but I doubt that happening."

Tani blinked, not understanding, until Rona came up to her ear and whispered, "Rika-sama used to have a smaller chest than yours, back when she was younger. Her clothes would perfectly fit you."

Tani nodded, but before Rona left, Tani said, "Too much information, Senpai."

Rona just smiled and left the room swiftly and speedily. Tani sighed.

"Do not worry," Rika assured. "I know this seems like a lot, but starting a life is sometimes not all that bad."

"Rika-sama?"

"Yes?"

"Have you always been a vampire?"

Rika did not slow down or stop her process as she thought and answered, "Well, yes. That is how I came into this world."

"You were _born_ a vampire?" she inquired in surprise.

"Most of us vampires were born that way," Rika explained. "Majime-san is the exception."

"Was he born a human?"

"No, no. His mother that bore him was a vampire, but his father was a incubus."

"That's a male succubus, right?" Tani asked.

"Yupp," Rika agreed. "Of course, strangely, Majime-san was originally an incubus, but as a young teenager his body transformed into that of a vampire."

"That's….odd."

"Indeed!" Rika agreed cheerily. "But I do not love him any less."

Tani chuckled to herself.

"Tani-chan!" Rona's voice called out. Tani turned her head, and her jaw gaped upon seeing Rona carrying many hangers with different kinds of skirts and shirts that Tani had never seen before.

"Mother," Rona said, his voice strained.

Rika looked up and, undeterred by her son's voice, said, "Oh, just hold up as many as you can, Ro-kun. Don't push yourself!"

"Easy for you to say," Rona grumbled. Tani giggled inwardly.

"Alright, Tami-chan honey, Ro-kun will show you different outfits, and you will pick out the ones you like," Rika told the girl. "There's a lot, so no need to say yes to everything."

Tani nodded and, as Rika did her hair, Rona put down all the clothes and kept grabbing different hangers with different clothes on them. Rona showed her a short and frilly pink skirt, but Tani said, "Absolutely not."

Rona breathed out and set the skirt aside, grabbing a pair of bright capris. Tani, uncertain, shrugged her shoulder. Rika poked Tani with something sharp at the back of her neck.

"Ouch," Tani said.

"Sorry, dear."

Rona grabbed more and more hangers, with V-neck shirts, skirts, tight shirts, and so on. Each time, though Tani kept shaking her head with disapproval.

"Tani-chan, come _on_!" Rona complained. "We went through nearly half the clothes and you _still_ have not picked out any outfits!"

Tani shrugged her shoulders; she guessed she had just never really considered such clothing options before. She had never really thought about wearing clothes too fancy or above simple and plain. And none of these clothes really looked to be her style.

A color caught Tani's attention, and while Rona rummaged through some more clothes she squinted her eyes and stared at a particularly interesting color. Tani looked at Rona and said, "Hey, Rona-senpai, what's that shirt?"

Rona looked at Tani, confused, until he followed to where she pointed. He picked up a hanger, and Tani's mouth became slightly opened. She smiled and nodded her head slowly.

"That shirt," she told Rona. "I like that one."

"Oh, I think that one will be perfect on you, Tami-chan!" Rika giggled.

Rona handed Tani the shirt. She looked over it and felt it: it had such a wonderfully soft feel to it. And the color seemed perfect.

"You wear that, and _anyone_ will believe you're a vampire!" Rika commented excitedly.

"No kidding," Rona agreed. "Of course, you have to choose the right pant, too."

"Personally, I would go for a skirt," Rika argued cheerily.

"This is Tani-chan's decision, mother," Rona reminded with a grumble. "_She_ gets to choose."

"Just making suggestions!"

As they spoke, Tani stared at something she found particularly interesting over in the pile of clothes. Tani got Rona's attention and said, "How about that darker one right in front, Rona-senpai?"

Rona saw what Tani pointed at, and he picked it up, looking at it in surprise. "Really?" he asked. "_This_ one?"

"Yes."

Rona shrugged and hanged the hanger to Tani. Tani held the two hangers and looked them over. She smiled. Though not her usual style, she supposed it would work.

"You're hair is finished, Tami-chan," Rika told her, clapping her hands together as if proud of her work. "Don't look at yourself in a mirror yet, but go ahead and change in the other room."

Tani dipped her head gratefully to Rika and stood up, leaving the room and entering another one, closing the door behind her. She heard Rona and Rika chattering delightfully. Tani slowly took off her pants and her shirt, leaving her bra and underwear. She breathed out and put on the shirt she had picked out. Then she put on the bottom garments of the outfit and wiped them with her hands, as they had slight wrinkles in them. She wiped the sleeves of the shirt.

"Tani-chan, you finished in there?"

Tani did not answer. Instead, she brought her fingers to her mouth, slightly uncertain and worried. At this point, her look must have been completely different. She grabbed the door hesitantly and slid it open, stepping out into the light. Rona looked over at her, and suddenly his jaw gaped with astonishment. Rika turned her head and squealed with delight. Kizo and Asha exited the kitchen, talking, but upon sighting Tani they spoke in excited tones.

"Tani-chan…." Rona breathed. "I hardly even recognize you!"

Tani blinked, and Rika pointed to a mirror. Tani walked over to it and looked at it, looking at the reflection in the mirror. Tani's mouth opened in amazement.

Standing in the mirror was a very defined feminine figure. It had golden eyes and slightly layered black hair that, at the longest, reached the shoulders. The figure wore a short-sleeved black shirt with green designs on it, giving the figure a more feminine look. The shirt was paired with a dark blue, shorter skirt, wide and loose and fairly pleated. Tani could not believe that she stared at the reflection of herself. Rona was right; _she_ did not even recognize herself.

Tani turned to Rona and Rika and hesitantly asked, "How….how do I look?"

"Like one of the family," Rika replied, clapping her hands in approval.

Rona slowly approached Tani and moved hair out of her face with his soft hands. "You look absolutely beautiful," he told her.

Tani smiled faintly and looked away. Before she could say anything, Kizo stepped between the two of them and, with a wide grin, asked loudly, "Why did you not show this side of you a long time ago? It's really cute!"

Tani blushed once Kizo had said so. No one had ever really called her cute before, and so often like this family already had.

"Now, just one more thing," Rika reminded. Tani looked at the woman.

"You just need a new name."

Tani looked away. She hated to say it, but while choosing clothes and putting on her new outfit Tani actually had thought about a new name. And while everyone had complimented her new look, she had one particularly in mind.

"Well, I was thinking about what Rika-sama keeps calling me," Tani explained.

"Tami-chan?" Rona asked, slightly surprised. "You want to call yourself that?"

"Not fully," Tani pointed out. "See, I was thinking about my name. It's Tanimachi-san, right?"

"Right."

"So what if I divide my name into parts and combine some of those parts?"

Rona looked up, looking fairly confused. "Maybe explain further?"

"How about…." Tani cleared her throat. "How about….Ta_ma_-san?"

"Shortening your name," Rika whispered softly. "And transforming it. Brilliant."

"Tama-chan," Rona echoed. "Just Tama-chan?"

"Yes," Tama answered. "Kumoro Tama."

Rona and Rika exchanged a glance. Rika nodded her head, and Rona looked back at Tani. "Well, that name fits. So, you're Tama-chan now."

"Yay, Tama-senpai's a part of the family now!" Kizo cried gleefully, throwing his hands up into the air.

Tani smiled. She supposed she would even have to begin calling _herself_ Tama from now on. Tama breathed out and thought about everything that had just changed. Her name, her appearance, her past….it all seemed like a lot.

_You can take any challenge thrown at you, Onee-san,_ her sister would have said. _That's one of the best qualities about you._

Tama relished in those words and felt herself ready to cry But she held back and stretched her arms up. Changing everything about her, and remembering it all, would be quite a challenge, but she was ready to take it. She felt just a little glad, too, that her new name was similar to her old one, so adjusting may not be so hard.

"Ready, _Tama_-chan?" Rona asked, opening the door.

Tama breathed in and nodded her head. She hesitated, but then walked out the front door and into the neighborhood. She looked around, then back at Rona.

"You positive that no one will recognize my scent?" she asked, thinking of Sasu a few days earlier, a brute who had first chased her through the neighborhood and led her to the Tenma household.

"The human scent usually comes from the human world itself, not so much each individual," Rona explained. "And since you have been with us for some time, our scent has nearly taken over your human scent."

"I guess that's a relief," Tama agreed quietly.

"Now, just remember that if anyone asks, you came in through the tunnels," Rona told her softly.

"The….tunnels?" she questioned in confusion.

"Just trust me; I will explain later."

Tama shrugged her shoulders and walked out onto the neighborhood, looking around. It still had the dark appearance as before when she had first entered Toruto. Tama looked up to see some small figures floating in the sky in the distance. _Birds,_ she thought. _It's nice to see something worthwhile here._

"What are you looking at Tama-chan?" Rona asked behind her, closing the door.

"The birds," she answered.

"You must be mistaken," Rona laughed softly. "There are no birds here."

"Those are just demons up there," a younger female voice put in.

Tama turned around to see that Asha and Kizo had joined Rona, stretching their arms. Tama felt somewhat heartfelt, but she ignored the thought and looked around.

"_All clear!_" a loud voice called out from above. Tama flinched and spun around, looking around to see that a human-like figure stood on top of a tall building in Toruto, howling to the entire neighborhood. Tama squinted her eyes. The figure had…._fur_ on it.

"J-just what kinds of monsters and demons are around here?" Tama asked shakily.

"All kinds," Kizo answered cheerily, reminding Tama just how much he had his mother in him. "You know, you should not be so startled about everything!"

"Startled about what?" a female's voice asked.

Tama spun around, surprised, and saw a familiar figure land on the ground, with golden and feathered wings on her back.

"Mizuki-san!" Tama greeted, waving, glad to see a familiar face around her.

Mizuki approached Tama, her violet hair flipping forward as she stared at Tama with a determined and curious expression.

"And just who are you?" Mizuki asked, suspicious. "And how do you know my name?"

Tama blinked. Did she really look _that_ different?

"Mizuki-chan!" Rona quickly blurted out, going up to Tama's side and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "This is Kumoro Tama, our _cousin_." Rona heavily emphasized the last word.

Mizuki stared at Rona with a blank stare. "What's with the bolded words?" she asked.

"Mizuki-chan, this is _Tama_-chan, our _cousin_, get the picture?" Rona repeated.

Mizuki still stared at Rona, her eyelids becoming drooped. Then she looked at Tama and said, "Do you have any idea what his deal is?"

Tama looked at Rona as the vampire slapped his hand to his forehead, before simply stating, "Mizuki-chan, Tama-chan is Tani-chan."

Mizuki blinked, looking at Tama. Suddenly her eyes widened with disbelief and her jaw gaped wide open.

"W-w-wait," Mizuki stuttered in shock. "_Tani_-san?!"

"No no no," Rona corrected. "Ta_ma_-chan."

"Still!" Mizuki breathed. "Tani-chan, is that really you?"

"Do I really look that different?" Tama asked in quiet surprise.

"I did not even recognize you!"

"Test passed," Rona cheered, though not too loudly.

"You _intended_ to make Tani-san, o-or Tama-san, look like someone else?" Mizuki questioned.

"That was the plan," Rona answered with certainty.

"Well, it's a damn good one," Mizuki agreed.

"You think everyone wouldn't notice?" Tama asked.

"Doubt it, with almost one-hundred percent certainty," Mizuki replied.

"Even Mizuki-chan did not recognize you," Rona told Tama.

"And, come on Tama-chan! You have got the best look _ever_!" Mizuki cheered. "Every boy would die to have you around!"

Tama smiled, though she felt slightly uncomfortable by the statement. She really, in all honesty, did not want any attention from anyone. She only wanted to fit in and hide. After all, that's all she could really do, right? Tama, Rona, and Mizuki walked side by side down the middle of the street, with Asha and Kizo chattering and following meters behind.

"Rona-kun, good morning!" Tama turned her head to see an adult-aged figure appearing in the doorway of one of the buildings, a very tall man with a thin abdomen. Tama blinked in utter shock.

"Hey, Mizuki-chan!" the figure greeted cheerily. "Who's your friend?"

"Rona-san's cousin, Tama-san," Mizuki called back. "She's staying with the Tenmas for a while."

The figure gave a thumbs-up before disappearing back into the house. Tama blinked.

"You might notice a lot of strange figures here," Rona told her. "Try not to freak out much. Or...at all, really."

Tama nodded, and suddenly two boys ran past her and Rona and Mizuki, laughing and chasing one another.

"You might want to start to get to know our neighbors, Tama-chan," Rona told her.

"Neighbors in the neighborhood?" Tama echoed. "Huh, that makes sense."

"You were always too literal," Mizuki mumbled.

"The two boys back there are Supaida Nasuji, with black hair, and Kimera Ijo, the one with bright yellow hair," Rona began. "Nasuji-kun is a spider demon, and Ijo-kun is a lion-dragon chimera."

"Crazy," Tama breathed quietly.

"They live next to each other, and they're the best of friends," Mizuki added. "It's impossible to separate the two."

"Mizuki-san, do you live near Rona-senpai?" Tama asked.

"I live five houses away, so Rona-senpai and I know each other well," Mizuki answered. "So, yes, I do live near them."

"The Tenma family's closest neighbor, a childhood friend anyways, is Taneushi Chikota," Rona said, pointed at the house to the right of his own house. "Taneushi and I are good friends."

"But she's younger, right?" Tama asked, knowing the name sounded familiar.

"By a little over two years, yeah," Rona answered. "We went to the same junior high and high school. She's usually pretty laid back and cool."

"What does she feel about….about humans?" Tama asked hesitantly.

"Strangely, Chikota-san is one of the few monsters in Toruto that is _indifferent_ about humans," Mizuki answered. "She doesn't mind them, but she does not necessarily like them."

"So it might _not_ be a good idea to tell her about me?"

"Probably not," Rona answered. "We're childhood friends, but not _that_ close. If she let the secret slip, you would be surprising at how uncaring she would most likely act."

"Is there anyone else to trust?" she asked.

"Well…."

Both Mizuki and Rona looked like blank paintings, and Tama sighed. It seemed as though there would hardly be anyone to trust….

"What about school?" Tama suddenly asked.

"What about it?" Mizuki questioned.

"That reminds me!" Rona blurted. "Rika-sama was able to get you into school. No one knows what happened with Tanimachi Kumo, but Tama Kumoro is officially enrolled at Sakuma High."

Tama blinked. "Really?" she asked, slightly angry.

"Yepp!" Rona answered. "So you can go back to school now!"

Tama shook her head. Of course, she would have to thank Rika later, but Rona sounded as though he treated it like no big deal. To her, school was a _very_ big deal. School meant everything to her. She had worked hard to get the grades as Tanimachi, but now she had to start over, as Tama.

"Incoming!"

Tama spun around but could not do anything as a figure ran into her going at a fast speed. The figure crashed into her and both fell to the ground.

"Tama-chan!" Rona shouted, dropping to the ground.

Tama slowly sat up, rubbing her head. _That_ really _hurt,_ she thought to herself, blinking. The figure that had crashed into her stood up and stretched, cracking his back. Tama stared as the figure stood up, her mouth slightly open. It was a boy, about Rona's age, wearing a plain helmet and bearing spiky brown hair and green eyes. Tama recognized him immediately.

"Watch it, Shoku-san!" Rona snarled. "You smashed into my cousin!"

_Wow,_ Tama thought in exasperation. _He already is taking the acting and pretending really seriously._

"Ah, sorry about that, Rona-san!" the boy apologized cheerily and calmly, looking over at the vampire. "I lost control on my board; I think a wheel is broken." Shoku then looked over at Tama, who was helped by Mizuki, and blinked many times.

"Y-you said that's your _cousin_?" Shoku asked curiously, gazing intently at her.

"This is Tama-chan," Rona answered. "Get out of here, you piece of shit."

Shoku narrowed his eyes and stared at Rona. "Oh, like you're one to talk you dirty blood-sucker!"

"You want to challenge me again, rotten fleabag?" Rona snarled.

"Bring it on, dead flesh!" Shoku growled.

Rona and Shoku glared at each other, and Tama swore she could see the sparks flying between the two of them. Tama slowly neared Mizuki and whispered, "What's the deal here?"

Mizuki sighed. "Rona-senpai's a vampire, and Shoku-senpai's a werewolf. Those two have been mortal enemies since childhood."

"Sh-Shoku-senpai's a werewolf?!" Tama whispered back with loud astonishment.

"Uh-huh."

"W-well, why do they fight?" she stammered faintly.

"Girl, don't you _ever_ read the stories?" Mizuki challenged quietly, crossing her arms and looking Tama in the eye.

"S-stories?"

"Sure," Mizuki answered. "Surely you have read all kinds of stories, legends, fantasies, fables, where vampires and wolves are mortal enemies?"

"Well…..yeah, I guess," Tama responded with uncertainty.

"Well, it's always been the case. Vampires and Werewolves are considered two of the most powerful creatures of the Super Five of all demons. They're the only ones of the Super Five who have actually _fought_ before."

"Super Five?" Tama echoed.

"The five most powerful of all the monsters and demons of the world," Mizuki answered. "I still cannot believe I'm telling you all this, but whatever. The Super Five consist of the Vampires, the Werewolves, the Devils, the Ghouls, and the Kishin."

"Kishin are demons, right?" Tama asked.

"Yeah. The Kishin are the true _pure_ demons of strength and darkness," Mizuki explained. "There are hardly any left in the world, but they're strong. You don't want to mess with them."

"So, what exactly happened with the vampires and the werewolves?" Tama asked curiously, looking at Shoku and Rona.

"They both considered themselves stronger than the other, and they ended up fighting purely for power and glory," Mizuki explained. "They ended up bringing a lot of monsters and humans into the fight."

"Who won?" Tama asked. "Is that why they're fight?"

"No," Mizuki answered. "Before the Vampires and Werewolves could determine any winner, the Ghouls and Devils and Kishin stopped them, forever creating a tie between them. No war between any of the Super Five has been enacted since."

"But most vampires and werewolves still argue and fight because of it?" Tama asked.

"Most of them keep to themselves and hold their feelings back when pertaining to one another," Mizuki corrected. "However, Shoku-senpai and Rona-senpai consider their fights to be a little more of a challenge to see who's stronger of the two individually rather than the species as a whole. Rona-senpai took a nasty beating from Shoku-senpai as a young child."

"Really?!" Tama breathed in disbelief. Rona had always seemed so strong to her she could hardly believe it.

"Uh-huh," Mizuki answered. "Rona-senpai used to be much smaller and weaker as a child."

"Two words: growth spurt," Tama joked.

"Eighth grade came and he grew quicker than you can say 'vampire'."

"I never really thought of Rona-senpai that way," Tama told her friend.

"Well maybe you should get to know your _family_ better," Mizuki responded with sincerity. Tama blinked, knowing that Mizuki was right.

Tama stepped forward, toward Rona and Shoku and asked politely, "Do you think maybe here isn't the best place to fight?"

Rona and Shoku fell silent and looked at Tama, blinking. Tama wondered if she had said anything wrong, until the two looked away from each other.

"Sure, Tama-chan," Rona replied quickly. "Whatever you say."

"I will get him later anyways," Shoku added mischievously.

Tama breathed in relief and stretched her arms into the air. The two of them had quickly did what she had said, despite their clearly long history of arguing and fighting. She wondered why, but then just wondered if it was a trait of men to respect women and their requests.

Strangely enough, Tama's mind then turned to school. Tama looked up, thinking about her classes and teachers and classmates. And when she thought about classmates, she thought about one in particular….

"Hey Rona-senpai?"

Rona turned towards Tama, blinking in curiosity. Tama breathed out, not quite sure how to ask such a request, and said, "I….I have a friend at school. Amai-san. Should I….should I keep the secret from her, too?"

Rona looked thoughtful a moment and responded, "Amai-chan is the one with shorter white hair, right? The really popular and athletic one?"

"She's my best friend," Tama explained. "She means more to me than anything."

"I hate to say it Tama-chan, but the more we keep the secret from the better," Rona said grimly.

Tama had a feeling Rona would say that. Still, she could not argue with him. She only felt sad for that. She would never be known as Tanimachi, the smart and anti-social sophomore at Sakuma High. She would be the new exchange student Kumoro Tama, the bright student who lived in a neighborhood of monsters.

But worst of all, she would have to keep the secret from Amai, her closest and most trusted friend. Though popular and friendly and athletic, Amai was the only person in the school who had truly taken time to get to know Tama. Amai listened to everything Tama had to say as Tani, and Amai always stuck by Tama's side. And now she was being told to start all over and keep a dangerous secret. How could she do that? And to Amai of all people?

"I know you really dislike the idea," Rona added in understanding. "But this is the best way to protect you. Sending you to school is actually pretty difficult enough, but telling the secrets to any humans is not the way to go."

Tama nodded her head. She would have to live a much different life, she supposed, now that everything seemed pretty set in stone.

"Today is Monday, right?" Tama asked.

"That's right," Rona replied.

"Yeah, today there was no school," Mizuki added. "Some teacher thing going on."

"But there's school tomorrow," Tama added with certainty.

"Uh-huh."

"Tomorrow's going to be weird," Tama sighed.

"I would not worry," Shoku called out behind them. Tama turned her head and her jaw dropped to see that he had pulled his shirt off and raised his eyebrows numerous times, looking around. Tama quickly turned away as soon as she had seen the abs he carried on his body.

"Dumb ass, put a shirt on," Rona growled, slightly hunched over.

"You're no fun, Rona-san!" Shoku laughed. "'Sides, you know werewolves; it's freaking hot out here and my body is really getting warmed up."

"You assfuck," Rona growled under his breath.

Tama looked at Mizuki and asked quietly, "Is that really the case?"

"Werewolves are susceptible to the heat really easy, since their body temperature is warm enough already," Mizuki answered.

"Just how warm is it?" Tama asked curiously.

"I would say about fifteen degrees warmer than the normal body temperature of a human," Mizuki answered calmly.

Tama blinked. A normal human with that high a body temperature would probably have fainted or nearly died. And yet that temperature was normal for a werewolf? She found herself shaking; all this information she was learning about the monsters and demons shocked her to the core almost.

"Why you shaking, darling?" Shoku asked coolly. "You're supposed to be a vampire, right? Never realized how much of scaredy-cats you could really be."

Tama shook even harder. Shoku should not have seen that! She had to stop shaking, had to stop being afraid. Rona and Mizuki clearly saw this as they all exchanged glances.

"Why so quiet up there, you all?" Shoku asked.

Before Tama could say anything, Rona suddenly spun around and glared at Shoku. "Dammit, quit following us you pile of shit!" he snapped.

Shoku narrowed his eyes and smiled mischievously. "And what makes you so protective of her?"

Rona immediately turned red. "What made you come to _that_ conclusion?" he challenged rapidly.

"Just a hunch," Shoku answered with a grin and half-drooped eyes. "You know we werewolves are known for our cleverness."

"Cleverness my ass," Rona growled.

"Don't believe me? Then why do you _love_ her?"

"She's my cousin!" Rona snarled. "What makes you think I _wouldn't_ protect my family?"

Shoku shrugged his shoulders and turned around, waving farewell to the three teenagers as he went. Asha and Kizo, silent for nearly the entire time, ran up to Mizuki, Rona, and Tama.

"So, wait, what just happened?" Kizo asked in confusion.

"No big deal," Rona replied with annoyance. "He really needs to stay away from us."

"I hear you," Asha agreed, baring her teeth.

"It doesn't seem like he's really all that bad a monster," Kizo pointed out, though no one appeared to be listening to him.

"You're all just freaking out over nothing," Mizuki scolded. She then turned her gaze to Tama, looking faintly concerned. "Tama-san, I'm worried about you. With _any_ monster or demon, you should not show so much fear. Especially if you're passing off as a vampire. I mean, vampires are _never_ afraid of anything. You might be starting to give the species a bad name."

"Mizuki-chan, she's fine," Rona assured, pushing himself between the two girls, looking down at Tama. "But I think she speaks some truth, too. You need to stop so acting so shocked and afraid about everything."

"How?" Tama asked, her voice barely shaking. "How do you propose I do that?"

"Pretend," Rona replied.

"Is pretending _your_ answer?" Tama challenged.

Rona did not answer, and Tama continued. "I mean, is pretending all you _ever_ do? You clearly just did it now!"

Tama halted, as did Rona and Mizuki. They both looked back at her with blank stares.

"You make it look easy, but pretending is _not_ easy to do!" Tama challenged more loudly. "And you really think _I_ could pull it off?"

Rona shook his head, and Tama stared at the vampire in confusion.

"I know you can."

Tama blinked as Rona walked towards her, flipping a strand of hair out of her face with his soft fingers. "You're smart. I know you can manage. You may think you cannot, but I'm sure of it: you _can_, you just have to put your mind to it."

Tama did not respond to Rona's words. Instead, she, Rona, Mizuki, Asha, and Kizo turned around, heading back for the Tenma household. No one spoke a single word on the way back. Even Kizo and Asha had fallen silent.

As soon as they returned home, Tama went upstairs to her dark room and sat there, until she went downstairs to eat dinner with the family. Of course, after she had finished, she went back up to her room, and fell asleep.

Tama woke the next morning and quickly prepared herself for school, walking with Rona and Mizuki along the long road from Toruto to Sakuma.

The three eventually walked down the street and made it to the neighborhood street where Tama had grown up. She found it hard to walk down the familiar road, but she stood up straight and did her best to ignore it. As they walked, Mizuki and Rona conversed with one another.

"Kajiwara-sensei gave us that ridiculous assignment for English again," Mizuki complained.

"You mean that practice for the vocabulary?" Rona inquired.

"Yeah, it took me all weekend."

"I remember that. It was easy for me."

"Don't be cocky."

"Hey, at least you do not have to deal with the History assignment Asukamado-sensei gave us!"

"Chiro-senpai told me it was some kind of project."

"Research, yeah, but a _lot_ of it!"

"I still prefer projects to these stupid vocabulary assignments…."

Tama did not interject herself into the conversation, and once they had reached the school, the three teenagers had dispersed. Tama, at least, knew where everything was, so she quickly led herself to the classroom where she had to go.

Once the bell rung, Tama looked up at a teacher, a woman, with wavy brown hair and glasses. She had a bright expression on her face and she clapped her hands, ready to start the day.

"Alright, class, let's get started on today's lesson!" she announced. "But before we do, we have a new student in the class!"

Tama's eyes widened. _Oh no,_ she thought to herself with slight alarm. _No, no, no, I do _not _want attention like this!_

"Would you please stand up?" the teacher asked, looking directly at Tama. Gulping, Tama slowly stood up, and everyone turned to look at her. She forced herself not to shake.

"What's your name, miss?" the teacher asked.

Tama cleared her throat before answering, in a strangely clear voice, "Kumoro Tama, ma'am."

"Where'd you come from?" a student asked. Tama turned her head, her mind reeling with shock as she realized who had spoken. A girl two desks away from her to her right had asked the question. She had hazel eyes and wavy blue hair that stretched below her shoulder. She stared rather intently at Tama.

Tama blinked and realized she had to answer the question. Remembering what Rona had told her, Tama responded, "I come from the mountainous regions. I came here with my family."

The other students gasped in surprise. Tama blinked. Not many students came from the mountainous regions. But she could not show that she knew that. Rather, she put on a look of confusion.

"Well, Miss Tama-chan, it is certainly wonderful to have you in our classroom," the teacher greeted with warm welcome as Tama sat back down in her seat. "Now, how about we begin our lesson?"

The teacher began the lesson, but Tama found she could not concentrate very well. She could only keep looking back at the girl with blue hair. She looked away as soon as they had exchanged glances.

As soon as class ended, and Tama grabbed her things, the girl from earlier came to greet her.

"You're from the mountains, huh?" she asked, standing over Tama.

Tama nodded her head. "That's right," she replied, her heart skipping a beat.

The girl stared intently at Tama, but then sighed and held out her hand. Tama stood up and grabbed the girl's hand, and they shook their hands in greeting.

"You remind me of someone I know," the girl commented cheerily.

"That's funny," Tama joked lightly, trying to play around.

"Tama-san, huh?" the girl asked.. "The name suits you. My name is Youku Amai."

"Nice to meet you, Amai-san," Tama greeted.

"You know, now that I _really_ look at you, you look a lot like someone I know," Amai said cautiously, looking Tama over.

Tama chuckled, closing her eyes, trying to play along even better. She had to think of something clever to say to get Amai off her back.

"Well, a lot of people say that." _Idiot!_ Tama thought. _Of course anyone would say that!_

"I'm sure you must be mistaken," Tama added. "I have never even been here before."

Amai blinked and shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, well," she sighed. "I was just wondering. I have not seen her since Friday. I wonder if she's sick…."

"What's her name?" Tama asked.

"Tanimachi-san. But everyone calls her Tani-san," Amai replied. "Heard of her?"

Tama hesitated a moment, but then, with a convincing and determined tone, answered, "I just moved here, so I can't say I have."

"Ah, well; it was worth a try," Amai sighed. She turned around and prepared to leave the classroom, and Tama breathed out.

"Nice to meet you, Tama-san," Amai called back without looking at Tama. "Hope we can enjoy classes in the future."

When Amai disappeared, Tama breathed out in disbelief. She could not believe what she had just done. She had just _lied_ to her friend. She had _pretended_. She had made-up a story, had tricked Amai to believe she was someone she was not, had played her friend deceived her. And yet….it had seemed _much_ easier than she had thought. She had eluded her friend from the truth, and she believed that Amai had become convinced that she was Tama and not Tani.

Still, the way that Amai had stared at her when she had first stood up in that classroom made her wonder if Amai considered that Tama was lying to her. Tama picked up her things and left the classroom.

Tama got through the rest of her school day with ease, repeating her story over and over again so many times that it started to get annoying. But she made it through the day, and she left without anyone asking questions.

"Hey, beautiful."

Tama spun around, faintly smiling, but her smile quickly disappeared and and turned into an open mouth and an expression full of shock. A black-haired boy did not stand, with golden eyes, but rather a muscular figure with spiky brown hair and bearing green eyes. Tama blinked.

"How was your first day of school, gorgeous?" Shoku asked her.

Tama blinked as Shoku walked near her, his green eyes fixed on her. "You know, you go a really lovely scent, Tani-chan…."

Shocked, Tama pushed herself away from Shoku and stared at him, confused. "Shoku-senpai, my name is Ta_ma_-san, not Ta_ni_-san," she pointed out to him.

"Come on," Shoku laughed. "Tani-chan, I _know_ it's you."

Tama blinked, completely shocked and horrified. "Since when did you know?"

"Believe it or not since the very beginning," Shoku told her truthfully. "You're hair is different, your eyes a different color, your clothes not you, your stride different…." Shoku then brought Tama into an embrace, breathing in quietly through his nose.

"But your scent is always the same."

Tama slowly pushed Shoku away, disbelieved. "H-how can you smell the same scent? I have lived with vampires and away from humans for some time now."

"Most werewolves, in all honestly, probably could not smell you either," Shoku confessed. "But, like my late father, I was gifted with an incredible sense of smell, more powerful than even some of the strongest werewolves out there. And you have the most lovely scent I have ever tasted…."

"Stay _back_, Shoku-senpai," Tama warned.

"Not that kind of delicious, Tama-chan," Shoku responded, confused. "It's more like….like honey and pine."

Tama blinked. _That_ was what he smelled on her?

"I-I can honestly say that I have no idea where the smell comes from," Tama admitted.

"Neither do I, but I savor it every day….You know, that vampire friend of yours isn't exactly the best choice for you."

"Oh?" Tama challenged. "And what makes you think I would trust _you_?"

"Look, I'm just saying you should not trust that guy," Shoku urged, looking genuinely concerned. "He's not what you would think."

"Why do you care?"

Shoku looked away, his face becoming red with embarrassment. Tama's mouth opened a little.

"W-w-wait," she stammered. "Are you saying that you _like_ me?"

Before Shoku could say anything, a voice piped up from nowhere, loud and angry.

"Stay _away _from her, Shoku-san!"

Shoku and Tama spun around, with Tama slapping her hand to her forehead as she saw that Rona had appeared, looking red with anger. Mizuki was at his side, rolling her eyes.

"Back off from _my_ girl!" Rona growled.

"Ha!" Shoku bellowed. "_Your_ girl? Oh, I think she's _my_ girl now!"

Tama's jaw dropped. Were these boys….fighting over her?

Mizuki appeared by Tama's side and commented with exasperation, "Apologies for this, but now it seems as though they have another thing to fight about. Your affections are really going to get them to fight constantly, damned idiots…."

"My….affections?" Tama echoed.

"Yupp," Mizuki answered.

As Tama stared at Shoku and Rona arguing, she could not help but sigh. She decided quickly to ignore them and she looked at Mizuki, who gazed back at her.

"You know, pretending is probably the best way to go," she told Mizuki. "It's still strange to me, but I think I can handle it."

Mizuki nodded her head, looking proud of Tama. As the two walked away and chattered delightfully, they knowingly left Shoku and Rona to their argument.


	3. Escape

Tama yawned as she went down the stairs of the Tenma household, clearing her throat.

"Hey, Tama-chan," a familiar voice greeted, warm but exhausted. "Good morning."

Tama turned her head to see a tall male teenager with jet-black hair and a defined chin standing a few meters away from the bottom of the stairs. He smiled at her warmly and gazed at her with bright golden eyes.

"Hi, Rona-senpai," she greeted in return.

"Did you have a good night's sleep?" he asked.

"Yes, actually. Thank you for asking, Rona-senpai," Tama replied, thinking about last night. For many nights she kept having recurring nightmares about her parents and sister, their bodies dead and bloody. Her family had been murdered only a week ago shortly after she discovered the monster-filled neighborhood of Toruto.

"Rika-sama's getting shaky," Rona grumbled, looking away with a slightly irritated expression. "She….she wants a meal. But I told her no!"

Tama smiled and chuckled. "No, it's alright," she assured. "I really don't mind."

"I do!" Rona complained, his expression slightly concerned. "She can't keep doing that!"

"She does not spend enough time around humans," Tama reminded. "It's sometimes difficult for her to control."

"She should learn to control it better!"

"My presence is helping, I think," Tama reminded.

Rona groaned and a figure appeared in an open doorway, a woman with slightly larger breasts and long and curly blonde hair. She had a wonderful physique and soft skin, and glimmering golden eyes. She stared at Tama, cheery yet intent

"Mother…."

"Rona-senpai, this is _my_ choice, not yours," Tama warned. "I can choose to do what I want."

"Don't make a habit of it," Rona pleaded.

Tama shook her head and held out her wrist to the woman. She smiled gratefully and took Tama's hand, opening her mouth and sticking sharp fangs into her wrist. Tama flinched, but did not mind it. She could feel a slight tingling in her hand, but she breathed out and ignored the feeling as the woman took her mouth off of Tama's hand, licking her lips. Tama looked down to see two tiny bitemarks on his wrist.

"Thanks, honey," the woman said gratefully. "I think I feel much better now!" The woman turned around and skipped into the room she had appeared from.

Rona sighed and shook his head in disbelief. "You really should stop letting Rika-sama do that," he told her.

"Why?" Tama challenged. "She doesn't take a whole lot whenever she _does_ suck my blood, and I really don't mind it."

Rona rolled his eyes. "You really should stop though."

"My blood. My decision. End of story," Tama argued, turning away.

"You know you don't have to be so mean to Nii-san."

Tama halted and swiveled around, her gaze lowering slightly to see a younger girl of about seven or eight years with blonde and curly hair and golden eyes. Tama would have thought the girl innocent and adorable. Only problem? The girl threw Tama a look of mischief and disapproval.

"Hello, Netami-chan," Tama greeted hesitantly.

"Don't treat me like I'm your sister or something," the little girl grumbled. "Because I'm _not_."

"You could try being a _little_ nicer, though, Netami-chan," Rona spoke up from behind. Tama turned her head to see Rona glaring at the girl through narrowed eyes.

The girl shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry, Nii-san," the girl apologized, hardly sounding sorry at all.

"Shut up," Rona growled.

"That's no way to treat your sister," the girl said innocently.

Rona rolled his eyes and the woman appeared once again in the doorway. "Ro-kun, please stop insulting your sister," she said, before throwing Netami a glare. "And _you_ Nea-chan, stop harassing your brother. It's not nice."

The woman disappeared, and Netami looked away. Tama smiled.

"Does Rika-sama _always_ call you by shortened names?" she asked.

"She always calls me Ro-kun," Rona answered humorously. "Except when she's mad at me."

"She _always_ calls me Nea-chan," Netami complained.

"Calm down, Netami-chan," Rona warned. "She always calls Kizo-kun Ki-kun. Asha-san is Aa-chan, and Shimosaki-kun is Shi-kun to her.

"Wonder why she does that?" Tama wondered aloud.

"I think she's still a child at heart," Netami answered.

"It was a rhetorical question," Tama mumbled.

"Mumbler!" Netami teased. "Seriously, do you _ever_ speak up?"

"Nea-chan, that is quite enough!" The woman appeared at the doorway again, this time with narrowed eyes and a serious glare. "Rona-kun, enough of you! Netami-chan, hold your tongue! You should not fight so much! And if you do not I will have to snap _both_ your necks, and I am certain you do not want to get onto your father's bad side!"

Netami and Rona both fell silent, their eyes wide. Even Netami looked as though she held a bit of fear in her eyes. Tama thought about Rona's words just moments ago. _She always calls me Ro-kun, except when she's mad at me._ Did that hold true for him and all his siblings? It certainly seemed that way.

The woman blinked and her expression became cheery again. she looked at Tama and smiled. "I am sorry for this, Tami-chan," she apologized. "I do not understand their negative bickering today."

Tama shrugged. "It's okay, Rika-sama," she assured. She had honestly thought Rona and Netami always bickered like this, but perhaps that was not the case.

"Now, Netami, if you're so disliking of Tami-chan, then perhaps the two of you should hang out together and get to know each other," Rika suggested. "Maybe you would not bicker so often."

"Mother, that's a _horrible_ idea!" Rona gasped. "You know Netami-chan's still young!"

"Practice is good, and I believe Tami-chan is strong enough," Rika assured.

"Strong?" Tama echoed. "Strong enough for what?"

"When vampires are young, they have difficulty controlling their thirst for human blood," Rona explained. "Remember when she first attacked you after entering our house?"

Tama looked up. She remembered it well. Tama had a cut on her wrist when first entering the Tenma household. Netami had appeared, and shortly thereafter the girl had lunged forward and bit Tama, taking some of the human's blood. It had hurt Tama, but Rona had managed to subdue her by snapping her neck. "You're saying that's why?" Tama asked aloud.

"Yes," Rona replied. "Netami-chan still cannot control her thirst for human blood."

"What about Rika-sama, though?" Tama asked curiously.

"Rika-sama can control her thirst _much_ better," Rona answered. "It's just difficult to do here because you're here all the time and your human scent wafts around."

"Oh…."

"Tami-chan, honey, no need to feel bad!" Rika assured. "You know, I do not have human blood very often, so that is simply why I find it nearly irresistible!"

"But you will learn to control it, _right_ mother?" Rona asked, grinding his teeth.

Rika sighed. "Alright, I will try," she answered. "Now, Tami-chan, Nea-chan, go have some fun!"

_She changes the subject quickly,_ Tama thought to herself with exasperation.

"Mother. Seriously. Not cool. _Not_ a good idea," Rona growled.

"The only way for Nea-chan to get along with Tami-chan is if they attempt to connect and get along," Rika explained. "I know my Nea-chan, and this is the best way to help her."

"Mom, I don't _want_ any help!" Netami growled.

"Nea-chan, that is quite enough!" Rika snapped, both anger and delight in her voice at the same time. "You should spend some time with Tami-chan and that's that! And if I hear you have done anything to hurt Tami-chan you _will_ be sorry!"

Netami hissed at her mother, baring her fangs, before spinning around and leaving the room. Tama and Rona and Rika stared after her until she disappeared. Tama looked at Rika.

"Please, Rika-sama," Tama pleaded. "I hate to say it but Rona-senpai's right; I do not think now is a good time to-"

"Nonsense, Tami-chan," Rika quickly interrupted, her voice sincere. "I understand that you and Nea-chan are not the best of friends, but you need to be a _little_ more friendly with one another."

"How?" Tama asked. "Seems impossible for Netami-chan…."

"True, but you do not know her like we do," Rika pointed out.

"Is there something about her I should know?" Tama asked. "Just to start?"

Rika sighed and shook her head. "I apologize, but that is not my place to say. You will have to ask Nea-chan about that."

"However, I will say one thing," Rona added in rather grimly, putting his hands in his pockets. "It hasn't always been easy for her."

Tama looked back in the direction that Netami had disappeared. What did Rona's words mean? Had Netami been hurt? Did someone do something to her long ago? Whatever the case, Tama knew that the only person she could grab answers from was Netami herself.

"I….I will invite Netami-chan to go on a walk with me tomorrow," Tama decided quietly but with hesitance. "I-I mean, j-just to start off."

"Thank you, Tami-chan," Rika said softly and gratefully. "I just know your presence will help ease her temper."

"What makes you so sure of that, mother?" Rona questioned.

"Oh, you don't give me enough credit, Ro-kun!" Rika laughed. "I know you think I am all cheery and do not pay attention to everything, but I know all of my children well, especially Nea-chan. Remember, she confessed to me first."

"That was nearly two years ago," Rona grumbled.

"What was?" Tama asked.

"Again, you will have to ask Netami-chan about that, Tama-chan," Rona reminded.

"Do I need her permission or something?" Tama joked.

Rona and Rika exchanged a quick glance. Tama blinked, confused, until they both turned their gazes back to her.

"Yes, you do," the both replied at the same time.

Tama looked away. "I did not really mean it like that," she told herself in exasperation.

"Some secrets we like to keep to ourselves," Rona explained. "And we always hold true to our word."

"Sounds like vampires are pretty honorable," Tama noted.

"It's part of being one of the Super Five," he responded with a shrug of his shoulders.

"The thing is, if monsters want to keep their own secrets and do not want anyone else to tell others about those secrets, then we will happily oblige to not tell because it's not our place to tell," Rika added in with quiet sincerity.

"So I will only ever know if Netami-chan tell me?' Tama asked.

Rona and Rika nodded their heads, prompting Tama to think. She really did want to know about Netami's bad temper, and hope to make peace with the little mischievous vampire…..but she did not want to have to _force_ the truth out of Netami.

_I do not think I could force it even if I wanted to,_ Tama thought to herself with a chuckle.

"Something funny?" Rona asked curiously.

"Just something I thought about," Tama answered.

"Well, we have to get ready for school," Rona added in, smiling wide. "Come on, let's get moving!"

Tama grinned and quickly raced up the stairs, ready to put on a change of clothes for the day. Upon entering her room, she saw that a change of clothes already lay on the bed. Blinking her eyes with surprise but thinking nothing of it, Tama grabbed the skirt and the shirt and changed into them. She brushed her short hair and wiped her skirt with her hand. _Short hair _is _way easier to manage than long hair,_ she pointed out to herself humorously.

Almost instinctively, Tama reached a hand for her neck, but only felt her bare skin. She shook her head and raced down the stairs, grabbing her new backpack that Rika and Kizo had bought for her the day before: bright green and white designs on a black backpack. It suited her.

She turned her head to see that Rona had also gotten dressed and had his backpack on. The two smiled at each other and waved goodbye to everyone else before leaving the household and walking down the streets of Toruto. As they walked, Tama walked as though it was the street she had grown up on.

"I see you have become more comfortable on these streets," Rona commented cheerily. "I'm surprised you adjusted so quickly."

Tama elbowed Rona lightly in the arm. "Oh, don't be so mean. A-and don't underestimate me."

"Still occasionally talk with a stammer, I see," Rona joked.

"Hey!"

Tama spun around to see a familiar figure with curly violet hair racing towards her and Rona, her skirt short and her shirt long. Tama smiled and waved at the figure, her friend Mizuki.

"Hey, Mizuki-san!" Tama greeted as the girl approached them. "How are you?"

"Fine," Mizuki answered cheerfully. "How about you?"

"Pretty good," Rona answered.

"What are we waiting for?" Mizuki asked, running ahead of them. "Let's get going!"

Rona and Tama laughed as they followed Mizuki through the streets of Toruto. They soon left the neighborhood and, after nearly half an hour, reached Sakuma and then Sakuma High.

"I have some friends who wanted to talk to me about a project so I'm off," Rona told the girls, waving them off. Tama waved back.

"You have been friendly lately," Mizuki noted.

"Mizuki-san, it's not that," Tama pointed out. "My new….er, life I guess you could say, has just become a bit more comfortable for me since…." Tama struggled to get the words out of her mouth.

"I know what you mean," Mizuki finished. "Still, you seem to have gotten used to the pretending thing rather well."

"Don't remind me."

"Mizuki-san! Tama-san!"

Tama turned at the familiar voice, and she saw a figure approach them, with shoulder-length blue hair and hazel eyes. Tama felt her stomach turn as she recognized her former friend, Amai, whom she had known well as Tanimachi.

Amai halted in front of the girls and greeting them swiftly. "It's nice to see you girls again," she told them, staring intently at Tama.

Tama blinked and Mizuki replied, "It's nice to see you again too, Amai-san."

"Mizuki-san, the girls over there are asking for you," Amai told her, pointing in the direction of some chattering girls in the school's courtyard. "I do not know why, but they just want to speak with you."

Mizuki nodded and walked off, waving farewell to Tama. Tama, however, could not do the same as she realized that Amai simply stared at her, leaving Tama standing.

"Hello, Amai-san….?" Tama greeted in confusion.

"You know, something still seems off about you, Tama-san," Amai told her, her eyes narrow and intent with interest. "I cannot place my finger on it, but you always look familiar. Even your _voice_ seems familiar."

"Amai-san, did we not already go over this?" Tama responded, slightly annoyed yet afraid in her mind. "I thought I told you that you must have been confused. I'm not someone you know 'cause I have never _been_ here before."

"Oh no, I see you roaming the hallways like you know this place top and bottom," Amai pointed out. "Like you _do_ know this place."

"I just have a really good memory," Tama explained lightly, looking away from Amai.

"You got something really weird about you, and I am going to figure out just what it is," Amai warned, pointing directly at Tama before walking away.

Tama breathed in relief that Amai had finally left, but now her thoughts became filled with worry. Would Amai really stoop so low as to spy on her, maybe, or watch her every move to discover if Tama was really Tani in disguise?

_I will have to make it very convincing,_ Tama thought to herself, deciding to go on with the school day as pleasantly as possible.

Tama went through every class that day just like normal. She sat and listened to the teachers' lessons. However, each time after class, Amai walked up to her and said, "Just like her," before walking away.

By the time Tama had gone to eat her lunch, Amai had quickly joined her, without saying a word. Tama thought nothing of it, until she had finished her lunch completely, and Amai said, "You eat the same thing that she does," before finishing her own lunch and leaving.

After school, all Tama could think about was Amai and how the girl had stared very intently at her every second of the day. Tama's mind became instantly flurried with thoughts of guilt and shock, and her pace picked up.

Tama suddenly stopped upon seeing Amai leaning against a tree in the school's courtyard, staring intently at Tama. She blinked and looked away.

"You think you can trick me but you can't," Amai told her, walking up to Tama slowly. "Something seems very off about you and I am about to get down to the bottom of it."

Tama slowly backed away. What could she do? Did she honestly think that Amai could….?

"Stop it!"

Amai halted in her footsteps, and Tama gasped with disbelief as she recognized the sincerity and fear in her own voice.

"Amai-san, that's enough!" Tama snapped. "I do not understand what has gotten into you, but leave me alone!"

Amai stared at Tama, disbelieved.

"What's going on?"

Tama spun around in surprise at Rona's voice and saw the black-haired vampire teen running towards, halting right next to her and staring at Amai.

"Amai-chan? Tama-chan? I hope nothing is wrong," Rona said worriedly.

Tama shook her head and neared her body to Rona's staring at Amai. The girl merely stared back, surprised.

"I don't care what you say Amai-san," she told her friend. "But stop harassing me. It's not….it's not nice, you know. S-so just leave m-me alone."

"Tama-chan…."

Tama looked up to see Rona, covering his hand to his mouth….chuckling?

"Oh, Tama-chan, you're so funny when you're scared like that!" he laughed. "Seriously, could you be a little less of a scaredy-cat?" Rona hooted with laughter.

Tama smiled and closed her eyes, her face towards Rona. She laughed at herself. Rona was right; she had acted in a completely unbelievable way. How scared could she get, really? This was Amai she was facing, not a scary monster! Tama thought herself pathetic and ridiculous.

"Uh…." Tama turned her head to Amai, who looked away with embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry," she suddenly apologized. "But maybe I….I _have_ mistaken you after all."

Tama blinked, shocked. "What do you mean, Amai-san?"

Amai faced Tama and answered, with slight guilt, "Because the friend that _I_ know, the Tani-chan I love, would never stand up for herself and snap at me, no matter how mad she got."

Tama and Rona looked at each other and Amai continued.

"Besides, she would _never_ let Rona-senpai talk to her like that."

Tama blinked and looked at Rona, who blinked and looked away, his cheeks becoming red with embarrassment. Tama laughed but covered her mouth. She turned her head to see Amai with her eyes closed, smiling, and rubbing the back of her head.

"Think we got off on the wrong foot, Tama-san," Amai apologized. "You know, you're pretty cool. You're a lot like Tani-chan, but I think it's just coincidence. Sorry for the intrusion!" With that, Amai turned to leave, grabbing her things swiftly and disappearing around a corner.

Tama and Rona stared after her with blank stares. _What just happened?_ Tama thought to herself.

"What an interesting girl." Tama, startled, spun around and saw Shoku staring after Amai, confused and disbelieving.

"What the?!" Rona snapped. "Get out of here, assfuck!"

Tama walked back to Toruto, sided by Shoku, Rona, and Mizuki. The boys bickered, while Tama talked with Mizuki. As they entered the Tenma household, Tama waved a friendly hello to Rona's siblings and his mother. Only then did she remember of what she had promised to do the next day after exchanging a glance with Netami.

After Tama had eaten dinner, fallen asleep, and woken up the next morning, she noticed that she had woken up unusually early. She looked at her clock and it read 4:35.

A creaking noise startled Tama. She looked around until she spotted Netami leaning against the door to her room, fully dressed and wearing a slightly annoyed look.

"Rika-sama says it's best to take a walk earlier in the morning," Netami said quietly, looking away before leaving.

Tama sighed. She still felt a little tired, but she supposed she had gotten to bed early the night before. She slowly pushed herself out of bed and changed her clothes, brushed her hair, and left her room, walking down the stairs.

Tama spotted Netami standing by the door, looking very unhappy. She turned her head to see that Rika stood in the kitchen, washing some dishes. _Almost seems like a normal family,_ Tama thought to herself humorously. Rika turned her head to Tama and smiled, and Tama went to greet the Tenma mother.

"Hello, Rika-sama," she greeted quietly, still trying to wake up just a little. "I didn't know you got up this early."

"Oh, you would be surprised," Rika joked softly, as if not wanting to wake up anyone else. "I have always survived on only five or six hours of sleep every day. Just one of the joys of being me."

Tama nodded her head, though her mind reeled with surprise. Rika always seems so cheery, yet she only slept a quarter of every day and was fully awake the rest? Seems crazy and unusual to Tama.

"Well, are you going to stand there gawking like an idiot, or are we going to get moving?" Netami sneered.

Tama sighed and went for the door, opening it. She let Netami go outside first, but the girl threw Tama an indignant look before leaving the house. Tama quietly said her farewell to Rika before following Netami and closing the door behind her.

"Just so you know, I really hate this idea," Netami grumbled, keeping many paces ahead of Tama as they walked through the streets.

"I know, Netami-chan, but-"

"Just shut up!" Netami snapped. "Let's just walk and get it over with."

Tama breathed out, feeling uneasy as she spoke. "You know, Netami-chan, we will have to talk while we're walking," she pointed out. "Rika-sama and Rona-senpai will be asking about it-"

"You think I care?" Netami challenged.

Tama kept walking. Netami's last statement threw her off, yet, after some time, something just clicked in her head.

"I think you do."

Netami halted in her footsteps and looked back at Tama with wide eyes. Tama stopped and stared back right at Netami.

"I think you do care, Netami-chan," Tama repeated. "Otherwise you would not have gone on this walk with me at all. You say you don't want to talk to me but, and I do not know if this is true, I think you want to get something off your chest."

Netami's head swiveled around, but she did not continue walking. Tama sighed as Netami shook her head.

"They told you, didn't they?" she simply asked.

Tama was confused, but then she shook her head. "No, they did not," she answered. "They only said that it had to come from you, not them. As far as I know, I'm clueless."

For a few moments the two of them stood in dead silence, unable to speak or choosing not to. Tama wondered what flew through Netami's mind. She wondered if she had either gotten to Netami in a good way….or in a bad one.

"You wouldn't understand, _human_," Netami spat, continuing with her walk.

"I think I would understand more than you think," Tama argued lightly, with no response from Netami. Tama sighed and kept on walking, Netami still working to keep many paces ahead of her.

"Netami-chan, I really do want to help," Tama told the little vampire. "I want to know why you harbor such anger, not just to your family, but to me as well. I….I normally am not good at these kinds of things, but I really do want to understand-"

"You don't know anything!" Netami shouted, spinning around and glaring right at Tama with blaring eyes. Tama felt she wanted to back away from the vampire's anger and fury, until she saw something in Netami's eyes that she had never seen before. Did she see…._hurt and anguish_ in Netami's gaze?

Tama slowly stepped forward, her focus completely on Netami. She failed to notice the little piece of cobblestone sticking out of the sidewalk, and she clumsily tripped and fell over it, nearly faceplanting on the sidewalk.

"Oh, darnit," Tama grumbled to herself in embarrassment and disbelief. "Man, I am so clumsy…." Tama sat up and rubbed her head. She looked down at her knee. Blood slowly oozed out from her kneecap.

Tama stared at her kneecap for a while, and the sudden realization dawned on her. She slowly lifted her gaze to Netami, and her eyes widened with shock to see Netami staring down at her with a wide and blank stare. Tama saw it all too quickly; the little vampire's pupils began turning into slits.

"Netami-chan, hold o-!"

Before Tama could say anything, Netami had lunged right for her, fangs bared and pupils narrow. Tama quickly put her hands up, stopping Netami by holding the vampire's shoulders. Netami snarled and Tama gazed on at Netami in horror; the little vampire looked as though she had completely lost control.

"Netami-chan, stop!" Tama pleaded loudly, her muscles strained as she realized that Netami's out-of-control vampire strength outmatched her own pathetic human strength. Netami's fangs slowly neared her shoulder.

"_Netami-chan_!" Tama yowled.

Netami suddenly stopped, her mouth still open in a snarl and her eyes wide and blank. Tama blinked. Had she gotten through to the vampire? But suddenly Netami turned her head sharply and focused intently, as if listening.

"N-N-Netami-chan?" Tama whispered.

Without warning, Netami stood up and raced away, grabbing Tama's arm and pulling her quickly. Tama confused, yelled, "Netami-chan, what's going on?"

"Just keep holding on to me!" Netami shouted back. Tama quickly reflected that it was Netami who held her, not the other way around. But Tama did not say it aloud as Netami quickly pulled Tama into a dark alleyway, turning another corner into another alleyway before stopping.

"Netami-chan, hold _on_!" Tama barked, pulling her hand out of Netami's grasp. "Just what is going on?"

"Do you want to live?"

The question threw Tama off-guard. She blinked and stared as Netami held out her hand to Tama, her eyes furrowed with determination.

"W….what?" she asked.

"I have no time to explain now," Netami snarled. "Just trust me!"

Strangely, Tama felt she _could_ trust Netami, though she could not figure out why. Without hesitation, Tama reached out and grabbed Netami's hand. The vampire quickly pulled Tama and reached for a wall with her hand.

"Netami-chan, that's not-"

Suddenly Netami grabbed a doorknob that had suddenly appeared and twisted it, revealing a hidden door in the wall. Tama's jaw gaped in disbelief as Netami quickly lunged forward, entering the door and into the darkness, pulling Tama with her. Netami let go of Tama and raced to close the door, standing rigid and silent by the door.

Even in the complete darkness of this place, Tama could still see the very faint outline of the door and of Netami's figure. Her shadowed figure seemed intent on the door itself.

"Netami-chan, what-?"

"Shhh!" Netami snapped, intent on the door again. Tama took a step forward, and suddenly realized that Netami had not focused her attention on the door, but rather on something on the other side of the door. Tama, slowly and quietly, creeped up to listen. She immediately heard muffled and faded voices, slowly getting closer.

"You guys see anything?"

"No. But the smell is strong."

"You're sure it's human, asshole?"

"Y-yeah, pretty sure."

"Well it sure as hell doesn't exactly smell it!"

"Smells like something I have never smelled before."

"It's gotta be a phony trail."

"Jackass!" A loud slap. "You _really_ are an idiot!"

"S-sorry, Sasu-senpai!"

"Trail's cold; I cannot smell anything."

"Neither can I."

"Don't state the obvious, dumbass!"

"Then _you_ don't state the obvious too!"

"Guys, don't fight."

"Oh, no! Uomo-san deserves it!"

Immediately Tama heard scuffling and rustling and thumping happening on the other side of the door. She blinked, confused, when suddenly a large weight crashed onto the door, throwing Tama and Netami back onto solid ground. Tama gasped for breath, but Netami covered her mouth.

"Get back here, you shit!" The rustling suddenly became louder and more frequent, as if the fighting had suddenly begun to turn excessively violent. Tama and Netami stayed their ground as the fighting continued for some time, with no signs of letting up.

Another shape crashed into the door, but the structure held its ground. Suddenly, the ground shook. As Tama tried to stand, she ended up falling down again.

"Netami-chan!" she whispered with alarm. "What's going on?"

Netami did not respond. She only looked around, confused and agitated. Suddenly the ground stopped shaking, and Tama held her breath.

"Damn. Now see what you did?!"

"Hey, it wasn't my fault!"

"Let's just get out of here before someone notices."

"As if the shaking ground would not let anyone know!"

"Don't argue with me!"

"Focus, assholes….!"

As the three voices spoke, Tama noticed that they had begun to fade. Tama blinked and looked around, wondering what had happened.

"I don't know what went on," Netami said, standing up and brushing her pants with her hands. "But I am glad that's over…."

"We'll see what happened outside as soon as we get out," Tama added, trying to lighten the mood.

Netami slowly walked toward the door, pushing it. Only, it did not budge. Netami pushed harder, and still it did not budge. Netami pushed harder, sounding as though she had begun to strain herself. Still, the door would hardly budge.

"Netami-chan, what's going on?" Tama whined. "Is something blocking the door?"

"Dammit!" Netami snapped, smacking the door with her fists. "Remember when the ground was shaking?"

"Yeah?"

"They must have knocked something that's blocking the door," Netami snarled. "I can't get it open!"

Netami pushed and pushed and pushed the door, straining and groaning. Tama walked forward and attempted to help Netami, but to no avail. The two of them pushed and pushed, but nothing helped.

"Damn this!" Netami shouted, racing away. At first Tama had wondered if Netami had remembered some kind of secret passage out, but then the vampire shot forward and hit the door at full speed with her shoulder. Even with speed and vampire strength, the door still would not budge.

Suddenly, Netami crumpled to the floor, breathing heavily. Alarmed, Tama raced ahead, kneeling down and looking Netami over as best she could in the dim lighting.

"Netami-chan, are you alright?"

Netami did not respond, she only kept panting for air. No, she seemed to pant for something else other than air. Her breathing made it sound as though her throat were parched. But why?

"Netami-chan, you're weak, aren't you?" Tama asked, worried. "Please talk to me. Why are you so weak?"

"Shut up! Go away!" Netami suddenly pushed Tama away with what little strength she had left, which could have equaled that of a strong human. "You do not understand anything, pathetic human!"

Tama had had enough. Almost instinctively, and out of anger, Tama lunged forward and slapped Netami on the cheek. The vampire did not respond, though Tama saw her eyes wide with some emotion she could not read in the darkness.

"Netami-chan, why won't you let me try and help you?" Tama scolded, her eyes furrowed. "I never wanted to be on your bad side but somehow that's how I ended up. And I cannot take it anymore! I can't take your attitude and rudeness! You shut me out, and you shut out everyone else! You make fun of everyone as if it makes you feel better! Why? I don't understand why but I want to know why! Tell me, Netami-chan!"

The dark room fell silent for a few moments, and suddenly Tama backed away, struggling to stand, panting hard. She could hardly believe herself. _Where did _that _come from?_ she thought to herself. Tama had never once in her life lost her temper before. She did not even believe she was capable of that.

Netami sat in silence, and Tama stood in shocked silence. Tama crumpled to the floor quickly, blinking as she stared at Netami. Had the vampire suddenly lost her will? Her voice?

"Why…."

Tama looked up at Netami as the little vampire's voice shook. No, Netami's entire body had begun to shake. Tama blinked.

"Why….?"

Tama blinked and suddenly she could see it: Netami flipped her head up and stared at Tama, her gaze full of shock and fear.

"Why would a human like you care?" Netami challenged, though very weakly.

Tama looked down and shook her head, uncertain. "I….I d-don't know," she responded. "Normally, I do not think about it….but somehow, this feels different…."

"I don't understand why you would even _want_ to know!" Netami said, sounding as though she sobbed a little, much to Tama's shock. "Tell me why, Tama-senpai!"

Tama blinked, disbelieved. This was the first time that Netami had ever called her _senpai_ before. Come to think of it, Tama did not remember Netami referring to her as Tama before, either.

Tama, feeling upset, almost with herself and with Netami, slowly crawled forward and grabbed Netami in her arms, embracing her tightly.

"Why?" Netami cried.

"Because I want to protect you."

Netami stopped crying, and quickly gasped, though Tama barely heard it. Netami pulled herself away, slowly, and looked up at Tama. Though Tama could not clearly see Netami's face, she could almost feel the shock and disbelief coming off of the little vampire in emotional waves. No, not a little vampire. A little _girl_.

"I want to understand you, Netami-chan," Tama explained softly. "I want you to open up to me, because whether you like it or not, I will be around for a while."

Netami looked down, and Tama touched her shoulder softly. She blinked and her eyes widened as she felt soft flesh on her shoulder. Before, Netami's body felt tough and strong. Where had this soft flesh come from?

Tama suddenly understood. She slowly moved her hand away from Netami's shoulder, staring blankly at the little vampire.

"A bruise…." Tama breathed quietly. "You were….you were hurt….as a child."

"Not by my family's hands," Netami explained quietly. "They were far too loving. I hate humans…."

"Because of what humans did to you?" Tama could almost barely believe what she was hearing.

"I was three," Netami said. "I was minding my own business, out in the human world, playing just like any other three-year-old….I was young and spirited and cheerful."

"Something happened," Tama said.

Netami nodded her head. "I was out on my own, playing. And then….a group of boys came up to me. I thought they wanted to play, so I was friendly to them. I laughed and giggled. But….they didn't like it."

Tama blinked, looking down at Netami sorrowfully.

"One of the boys slapped me in the face. I fell to the ground and got back up, crying. Then another boy, he…." Netami grabbed her shoulder as if it were a precious stone.

"He hit you," Tama finished.

"So hard that I ended up getting a bruise," Netami cried. "You don't understand. Vampire healing abilities don't fully generate until the vampire is at least a teenager. So, in a way, I had the body of a human. And I felt so weak and powerless…."

"They did it more than once, didn't they?" Tama inquired, not believing what she had heard.

"Yeah….They hit me so many times I can't even think to count. They always said mean things to me. And they weren't the only ones."

Tama leaned back. "Other people hit you?" she gaped.

"Others were mean to me," Netami corrected, sobbing. "They said mean things or hit me or pushed me….I couldn't take it! It wasn't just boys! It was girls, too! Not just kids, but even older kids! Everyone called me strange, a freak, a weirdo! Everyone knew the Tenma family, and they all thought us weird. I….I couldn't take the denial of everyone anymore! I didn't want anything to do with humans!

"And now a human like yourself _dares_ to ask me what my problem is! Do you have any idea what it's like to be denied by everyone around you?! _You_ would act the same if humans did this to you!"

Tama fell silent and realized the complete truth in Netami's words. Netami had clearly been bullied as a child, and had chosen to hide it by becoming a bully herself. Come to think of it, this completely explained why Netami rarely left Toruto. Tama had not paid much attention to it, but she paid enough attention. However, she could have never guessed this as the reasoning for why that was so.

Still, Tama felt she could sympathize with Netami. Tama simply pulled the little girl once more into an embrace, squeezing her tightly.

"Netami-chan, I _do_ understand."

Netami pushed herself away from Tama, exasperated.

"How, how could you possibly know?" Netami demanded, crying.

"Because that's every day of my life."

Netami blinked, as if confused, and Tama continued. She had never revealed this to anyone, even her sister Yamada, but she wanted Netami to know.

"I have never really been accepted by others before," Tama explained. "I keep to myself. I study and hang out with teachers rather than students. I'm an outsider among everyone else."

Netami looked away.

"But there's one key difference between you and me."

Netami looked up at Tama, confused.

"I choose not to look for friends. I choose to be by myself because I want to. But _you_, Netami-chan, want friends more than anything."

Netami stared at Tama in disbelief as the teenager continued.

"You just wanted friends and you just wanted to be accepted for who you were. And so, you let these things get the best of you. These events _hurt_ you. I chose not to look for connections. But that's all you ever wanted."

In the dim light, Tama said Netami shed a single tear, large and bright. Somehow, Tama saw only pure reflections glowing in that tear, rather than hatred and anger and despair. Tama could see, in the dim light on Netami's face, that the little vampire felt restored.

"Netami-chan, please let me be your friend," Tama pleaded, smiling. "Please, I want to understand you. And I really don't want to see you sad, either."

Netami pushed herself into Tama's chest, sobbing and hugging her. Tama rubbed Netami's curly and blonde hair. _I never realized how soft she really is,_ Tama told herself with slight surprise. _Her skin, her hair….and even her personality. She's only a little kid who really wants a friend._

Tama cleared her throat and slowly pushed Netami away, staring at the vampire with a determined glare. "Netami-chan, I know you must want to cry," she said with slight humor. "but we really should focus on getting out of here before anything else happens."

Netami wiped her face with her hand and nodded her head, looking back at the door. Tama and Netami both stood up and, bunching their muscles, pushed on the door, barely able to budge it. Though she knew her strength would barely make a difference, she still knew she had to try.

Netami and Tama pushed and pushed, but could not even budge it a little. The two of them, finally admitting defeat, crumpled to the floor, panting heavily.

"It's….it's no use," Netami gasped, sounding as though she accepted defeat.

"I won't have it, Netami-chan," Tama argued. "You're supposed to be a vampire, right? Don't you have strength and power?"

"Tama-senpai, my strength is weak right now."

Tama stared at Netami's dim figure, shocked by what she had heard. "Is it….is it because you're a child?" she asked.

"No, not this time," Netami answered, her voice slightly and strangely cracked. "Even child vampires have incredible strength. But….I haven't eaten a lot in the past week."

"What?" Tama responded, disbelieved. "Why?"

"When I first attacked you, almost a week ago, mother got mad at me," Netami explained weakly. "She kept me off my usual meal plan for days."

"Why would she do that?" Tama asked.

"Well, it was only for two days, but when my _attitude_ didn't let up, she only kept the punishment going. I think I may have deserved it."

Tama looked away, looking at her arm, then her kneecap, which had begun to scab over. Tama blinked, realizing she might have no choice.

"Netami-chan….would you become stronger with blood?"

Netami slowly turned her head to Tama, looking rather shocked. "What are you….saying?"

"Netami-chan…." Tama slowly breathed in, bracing herself for her next words.

"I want you to suck my blood."

Netami blinked, looking dumbfounded even in the dim light as Tama made the request.

"Tama-senpai, I….I-I can't."

Tama blinked. Had she seriously just spoken those words?

"Netami-chan, you _have_ to!" Tama urged, closing her eyes. "If you don't we may never get out of here!"

"Tama-senpai….I may not be able to stop," Netami whined.

"I don't want excuses," Tama scolded. "Netami-chan, _force_ yourself to stop!"

Netami shook her head. "I won't. I can't…."

Tama's entire body shook. _No,_ she told herself. She would _not_ accept such an answer. Knowing she had no other choice, Tama felt around, touching a sharp piece of glass on the floor, and she grabbed it, holding it in the air, bringing it to her neck.

"If you won't do it, then I will give you no choice."

Before Netami could see anything happening, Tama quickly sliced at her neck with the glass shard, piercing deep into her flesh. As the stinging sensation on her neck began to overcome her, Tama released the glass shard from her hand and clasped her hands to her neck, groaning loudly and uncontrollably.

Tama looked up. Even in the dim light, she could see that Netami's pupils began to narrow. Netami covered her nose and mouth, looking as though she struggled extremely hard.

Tama smiled. "Netami-chan….it's okay. Don't hold back….don't…."

Netami suddenly lunged for Tama, without the teenager struggling. Tama watched as Netami's fangs quickly enlarged, and the vampire suddenly stuck her fangs into Tama's neck. Tama grunted slightly, but barely, and could hear the vampire grunting and sucking. Netami kept her mouth on Tama's neck, while Tama could feel some blood slowly welling down her shoulder.

"Netami-...chan…." Tama groaned, feeling herself beginning to lose consciousness.

"Please….Ne….tami-chan….stop…."

Netami did not stop, and Tama felt herself slip into unconsciousness. The last she remembered hearing was a loud crashing sound….

Tama slowly awoke, her eyes finding it difficult to adjust to the light. Tama groaned as the blur around her began to clear.

"Tami-chan, you're awake!"

Tama blinked open, spotting Rika looking down at her, her gaze full of everlasting relief. Tama looked around to see Rika looking down at her, with Asha, Kizo, and Shimosaki at her side. Tama turned her head. Netami sat in a chair, turned away from all of them, looking as though she were sulking.

"What….what happened?" Tama asked weakly.

"I can't really say," Rika answered with uncertainty. "All I know for sure is that you fell unconscious and Nea-chan struggled to bring you home. Luckily, Ki-kun was already out, and he helped his sister."

"You have been out almost all day," Asha explained rather flatly. "We had to call the school and say you were sick. Rona-senpai nearly refused to leave the house altogether, but Mizuki-senpai got him out."

"Rona-senpai….where is he now?" Tama asked.

As if in reply, Rona suddenly appeared in the room, panting heavily as he looked down at Tama, the alarm in his expression soon turning to relief.

"Tama-chan…..you're alright," he breathed.

"I stopped."

Everyone in the room turned their heads with surprise at the sound of Netami's quiet voice. The little vampire slowly turned around and looked at the family and Tama with a somewhat dull gaze.

"I stopped, didn't I?" she asked.

Tama nodded her head. "Yes," Tama replied. "You did, Netami-chan."

"You offered her your blood?" Rona asked in disbelief.

"It was the only way to get out," Tama explained.

"We were trapped in the hideout," Netami added.

"The hideout, huh….?" Rona echoed, looking as though he barely paid any attention to Netami's words.

"I'm glad," Netami said, smiling faintly. "I'm glad Tama-senpai's alright."

Rika, Rona, Kizo, Asha, and Shimosaki all gasped in astonishment. Tama smiled weakly. Netami had never called her by her name in public before. Yet she did not care. Netami had stopped. She had saved Tama's life. And Tama could never have been more grateful. Yet, more than that, Tama finally understood Netami, and she felt as though the two of them would become closer than ever.


	4. Hiding

"Someone want to open the door?"

"Coming!"

Tama ran down the stairs as she recognized the familiar voice of her friend Mizuki. Tama jumped up and landed just before the door, looking around. Rona stared at her, surprised and interested, and Tama just smiled back at him bashfully.

Turning back to the door, Tama pulled it open, revealing the violet hair of the ever-cheerful Mizuki.

"Hey, Mizuki-san!" Tama greeted.

"Hey, Tama-san," Mizuki greeted in return. "Since it's the weekend, I was wondering if you wanted to come hang out at my house tomorrow night."

Tama blinked, slightly uneasy. "I mean, I guess, but….do your parents know? You know, that I'm human?"

"Mom knows, but Dad doesn't," Mizuki assured. "But he's out of town, and won't return for another week or so."

"Does he usually go on long trips like that?" Tama asked with surprise.

"Yeah, I don't see him often," Mizuki responded somewhat grimly. "But we do not really talk much."

"And you're mom is okay? With me being a human, that is," Tama added.

"She is actually one of the few monsters in the neighborhood who actually _likes_ humans," Mizuki said with slight disbelief. "She's met a lot of friendly ones. Trust me, for years it's been nothing but nice humans and nice people. Dad hates it."

"She sounds like a good mother," Tama commented.

"Yeah, well I get my human-indifference from a combination of my mom and dad," Mizuki grumbled, looking away. "I really do not understand."

"Well, I think I would like to hang out with you tomorrow," Tama said.

"Great! It can be a sleepover!" Mizuki cheered, hugging Tama so tightly it began to hurt. "Mom's prepping all kinds of food! You will love it!" Mizuki let go of Tama and waved to Tama as she said, "Bye, Tama-san!"

"See you tomorrow!" Tama called back, closing the door. Someone chuckled behind her, and Tama turned to see Rona standing right behind her, looking as though he would laugh.

"What's so funny?" she challenged lightly.

"You have gotten so used to all of us monsters and demons, it's surprising," Rona replied simply. "Family, friends….hell, you were even able to get a hold on Netami-chan. It still shocks me."

Tama shrugged her shoulders. She supposed she had become more open since coming to the neighborhood of Toruto on the outskirts of Sakuma two weeks ago, where she had become forced to live with a family of vampires, along with having Mizuki, a half-griffin, and Shoku, a werewolf, as friends.

"You're becoming quite the catch in the neighborhood," Rona commented.

"How so?" Tama asked, slightly uneasy by that statement.

"Well, just to say that everyone here is starting to talk about you."

Tama gulped, even more uneasy now. "Wha-what are they saying?" she inquired feebly.

Rona looked away, his eyes suddenly furrowed. "Everyone is commenting on your beauty and hair and clothes…."

Tama smiled and sighed in humorous disbelief. _Rona's jealous,_ she thought to herself. Still, how else would she feel if everyone was talking so smug about the person you loved?

"Come on, Tama-chan, you _know_ I would not let anyone take my girl," Rona reminded.

Tama looked away, exasperated. He had lost her attention now. Your _girl?_ she thought to herself.

"What about Shoku-senpai?" she reminded, grinning.

Rona's eyes furrowed and he clenched his fists. "That piece of shit….I swear, he ever tries to take _my_ girl, he's gonna pay! He can be a real pain in the ass sometimes!"

Tama chuckled to herself. She could not explain it, but she thought it funny to watch Rona want to take revenge sometimes. She stretched her arms, and suddenly Rona had changed the subject.

"Netami-chan still calling you senpai?" he asked. "Not human?"

"She hasn't called me 'human' since that day," Tama answered. Netami was Rona's youngest sister, who was well-known in the neighborhood for having a fierce temper and attitude, particularly towards humans. When the two of them had gotten trapped, with no way out, Netami had confessed her reasons for hating humans, opening up to Tama. Ever since, Netami had always acted in a friendlier manner not just to her, but even to her family and other neighborhood residents. Although Netami still showed signs of her attitude, it had lessened since the trapping a few days ago.

"You amaze me," Rona confessed, smiling faintly. "You know, I do not recall a time when someone had been able to get to Onee-chan like that that."

Tama shrugged her shoulders. She really did not want this kind of commemoration right now.

"Anyways, I heard Mizuki-san at the door," Rona said, changing the subject. "What did she want?"

"She invited me to her house," Tama replied.

Rona blinked, looking slightly uneasy. "Wait, does-?"

"Don't worry about it, I will be fine," Tama assured.

Rona sighed. "If you're sure," he sighed.

Tama rolled her eyes. "You worry too much," she told him.

Rona sighed and turned around, walking away. Tama looked back at the door and stretched her arms up.

"Hey, Tama-senpai!"

Tama turned around to see two smaller figures walking towards her, one boy and one girl, who looked a few years apart. The girl had curly blonde hair and golden eyes, and the boy had longer black hair and golden eyes.

"Hey, Kizo-kun, Netami-chan," Tama greeted.

"We wanted to know if you wanna walk with us," the boy, Kizo, requested cheerily.

"I can't see why not," Tama agreed. "I finished all my homework already."

"Great!" Kizo yowled. "Let's go!"

"Kizo-kun, really?" Rona grumbled. "Keep your voice _down_."

"Oops!" Kizo apologized, his hands flying to his mouth. "Sorry, senpai!"

"Come on, let's just go," the girl, Netami, said with a blank expression.

Tama just smiled faintly as Kizo and Netami walked side by side out of the house. Tama quickly put on a pair of flat black shoes and followed Rona's younger siblings, waving goodbye to Rona and his quickly appearing mother Rika.

"Netami-san!" Kizo said cheerily. "Did you hear about Chima-chan?"

"No," Netami answered, sounding slightly curious. "What happened?"

"She was able to fully transform."

"Really? That's pretty cool."

"Her form is _so_ adorable!"

"Kizo-san, what is with you and younger girls?"

"I don't know. It's not younger girls, Netami-chan, it's _Chima_-chan. I think she's the sweetest thing ever!"

"Yeah, she's one of the strays."

Tama blinked, hearing that as interesting. "Strays?" she inquired curiously.

"Strays are those in Toruto who _like_ the humans," Netami answered. "I'm not talking about hating them, or being indifferent about them, but actually _liking_ them."

"Are you strays, too?" Tama asked.

"I'm not a stray," Netami answered. "I'm indifferent about them, or I hate them. You're the exception."

Tama blushed at that, and then Kizo added, "I might consider myself a stray, but I am not about to make that public."

"Why not?" Tama asked.

"Well, if you're a stray here, most of the other residents either dislike you or avoid you or try and fight you," Kizo answered. "Chima-chan's the exception."

"Why's that?" Tama asked. "Who is this Chima-chan?"

"Bakeneko Chima's a nine-year-old cat demon," Netami answered. "She's older than me, but she has the mind of a two-year-old. Literally."

"She's never stepped foot out of Toruto," Kizo added. "But she says she loves humans, despite everything her parents and friends say."

"Sounds like a lot to deal with," Tama joked.

"Yeah, her parents get annoyed by it," Netami agreed.

"But they still love her," Kizo pointed out. "They would do anything for her. One time they-"

"Look out!"

Kizo and Netami glanced at each other and looked around. A shadow fell upon the three of them, and Tama looked up. A large piece of dark building material hurtled towards them. Kizo and Netami quickly ran, escaping the shadow. Tama raced with them, but realized that the shadow was too large and she could not run quickly enough.

Tama's weight was suddenly thrown forward and she landed on the ground, looking back quickly. The building material had missed her.

When she felt something touch her stomach, Tama slowly turned her head, blinking and looking down. A single hand held her stomach, and another hand held her left shoulder. Instead of her own two legs, she saw _four_ legs. Tama turned her head and looked down. A large male figure lay on the ground, looking up at her, blinking.

"_Shoku_-senpai?" she breathed in disbelief.

The teenager below her, with spiky brown hair and thick muscles, held onto Tama, as if protecting her. She smiled, until she quickly noticed something: he wasn't wearing a shirt.

Tama quickly jumped up, startled. "Sh-Shoku-senpai!" she started. "P-put a shirt on!"

"Sorry, girl," Shoku apologized, staring with half-drooped eyes up at Tama, still lying on the ground. "I was just running, keeping shape, when I saw you, and I thought, well, I could probably-"

"Yeah, I-I got that," Tama grumbled, looking away. She had to admit to herself that, as much as she wanted him to put a shirt on, Shoku _did_ look fairly handsome without one….

Tama shook her head. _Get those delusions out of your mind, Tama-san!_ she thought to herself. She blinked and saw that Shoku began to stand up, wiping his legs. Wait, he just did not have a shirt on. He did not have any _pants_ on, just boxers….

Tama quickly looked away and closed her eyes, shaking in embarrassment. "Shoku-senpai?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you _please_ put clothes on?"

"And why would I do that?"

Tama grumbled. Frantic footsteps made Tama open her eyes, seeing Kizo and Netami run straight for her.

"Tama-senpai, are you alright?" Kizo asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Tama assured.

"You ran fast enough to get out of the way?" Kizo asked with surprise.

"N-no. Actually, Shoku-senpai helped me," Tama answered, turning towards Shoku. She stared in exasperation as Shoku stared, boldly, up at the sky, looking as though he had done a good deed.

"No need for cockiness, Shoku-senpai," Netami grumbled.

"Ah, don't you worry, little one!" Shoku assured, rubbing Netami's head. Netami only growled and only slightly bared her fangs.

Shoku then turned his attention to Tama. The very look of affection he had on his expression made Tama feel like she would turn red.

"Shoku-san!"

Tama spun around at the sound of the familiar voice, but saw merely a blur as Rona sped by and grabbed Shoku by the flesh of his neck, baring his fangs at Shoku. The werewolf merely hung there, as if Rona's hand around his neck barely affected him.

"What business do you have, touching my girl?" he challenged.

"I don't know….saving her life?" Shoku growled, his skin beginning to steam. Rona narrowed his eyes and released Shoku from his grasp. Shoku's knees bent as he hit the ground.

"Piece of shit!" Rona shouted, glaring menacingly at Shoku. Shoku raised his head and met Rona's gaze, staring intently back at the vampire. Sparks seemed to fly between them.

"And….they're at it again," Netami grumbled.

"Do they _ever_ stop fighting?" Kizo wondered aloud.

"I don't believe them," Tama sighed, almost to herself. "First, they threaten each other physically, and now they're giving each other death glares that look just plain stupid."

"You know, they were never this stupid with their fighting before you showed up, Tama-senpai," Netami commented.

Tama stared down at Netami, uneasy. "Y-you think I-I did this?" she inquired shakily.

"Man, what is with you, Tama-senpai?" Netami asked, raising an eyebrow. "S-s-sometimes you s-stutter and act all shy a-and embarrassed, but then other times you become like a time bomb and unleash all kinds of emotions! Seriously, what is up with you?"

Tama shrugged her shoulders. The truth in the matter was that she had always closed and kept her emotions and feelings to herself. Only when she had began to live in Toruto had she changed and her emotions began to fluctuate almost frequently. She did not understand why, but she felt living in the neighborhood itself had to have formed as part of the reason.

"Well, it's weird, and you should stop," Netami mumbled.

Tama felt a little crestfallen by that comment, and she tried to ignore it. _I may have gotten her to open up to me, but clearly Netami-chan does not want that to mean that that makes us friends,_ she thought to herself, somewhat unsurprised.

Tama turned her head to see Rona and Shoku still glaring at each other, bickering fervently. Tama looked back at Kizo and Netami and suggested, "Want to continue our walk?"

Netami shrugged, but when she looked over at Rona and Shoku, she quickly nodded her head. Kizo nodded as well, and the three of them continued their calm walk through Toruto, leaving Ron and Shoku behind to their fight.

"They're ridiculous," Netami commented boldly. "I mean, will they _ever_ stop with their fighting?"

"My guess is no," Kizo answered.

"Want to make a bet?" Netami challenged.

"How so?" Kizo countered.

"One of us bets that they'll stop fighting, another bets they won't," Netami explained. "I don't know about you, but I think they _will_ eventually stop fighting."

"That's a shock," Kizo said with surprise. "Because normally you don't think like that."

"Whatever." Netami stuck her tongue out at her brother. "I bet they eventually _will_ stop fighting."

"I bet they won't. What do you want to bet?" Kizo asked.

"I don't know….how about saving that for later?"

"Alright," Kizo grumbled. "But it better be good."

Netami and Kizo suddenly turned to Tama. She stared back at the younger kids, confused.

"Tama-senpai, you're our witness to this great bet!" Netami cried boldly, pointing directly at Tama.

Tama blinked and shrugged her shoulders, but then nodded her head.

"And you're our only witness!" Kizo added. Netami just looked at her older brother with exasperation.

"Al….right then?" Tama responded with confusion.

"It's a deal!" Netami shouted, and together she and Kizo grabbed one another's hands and shook them hard. Tama rolled her eyes.

"Do you two always do this?" she asked.

Netami and Kizo both turned their heads to Tama, blinking. "Sure," Kizo replied. "We're the gamblers of the family."

"G-gamblers?" Tama echoed.

"Sure," Netami responded. "We're the gamblers, Rona-senpai's the athlete, Asha-senpai's the star, and Shimosaki-senpai is the muscle."

"What about Rika-sama and Majime-sama?" Tama inquired.

"It's just the kids that have titles," Kizo explained. "Mother and Father don't have famous titles like we do."

"Famous?"

"Sure," Netami boasted. "We're the Tenma Gamblers. Kizo-senpai and I bet on _everything_!"

"So this is normal?" Tama asked, exasperated.

"Sure is!"

Tama sighed. The family seemed to become stranger and stranger every day, but she supposed learning about this family would greatly help her in understanding them. Just like with perhaps Shoku or Mizuki….

Tama balled her fist and slammed it down on her other open palm, remembering something. Netami blinking at her, confused.

"That reminds me: I should get to know Mizuki-san, too!" she stated.

Netami and Kizo stared at her. "Huh?"

"Well, I learned something new about you today," Tama said, realizing they had no idea what had just raced through her mind. "I learned more about Netami-chan a while ago. I should get to know Mizuki-san too."

"What does Mizuki-senpai have to do with this?" Kizo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh," Tama breathed. "W-well, Mizuki-san invited me to her house tomorrow."

Netami and Kizo exchanged a frantic look, though Tama hadn't a clue as to why.

"Wait, did she tell you-?" Kizo began.

Tama held up her hands. "Don't worry, Mizuki-san warned me," she interrupted. "I will be fine. I mean, it's kind of harmless, really. Her mother is alright with human beings and her dad's out of town."

Netami and Kizo looked at each other, not quite as alarmed but still slightly uneasy.

Tama sighed. "What is with everyone?" she asked. "Every time I tell others Mizuki-san invited me to her house, everyone gets freaked out. Calm down!"

Kizo and Netami exchanged a glance. Tama groaned and kept on walking. She really had begun to get frustrated with all the strange reactions of people lately. It did not make any sense. Why _did_ everyone need to worry?

"Well, I….hope you have fun."

Tama halted and turned around at Netami's response. Two things stuck in her mind. First off, the uneasiness in Netami's voice caught her attention. Netami sounded more uneasy than usual. Why? And Netami normally did not usually say things like that. Her words sounded off. Did she really mean it?

"Anyways, how about talking about something _less_ worrying?" Kizo suggested, sounding slightly frantic.

Tama blinked but said nothing as he and Netami continued on with their chat. Tama avoided the conversation altogether and kept on walking, thinking about what they had just said. Were they truly worried? If so, why? They had no reason to be.

The same thoughts spiraled through Tama's head as the three of them finally walked home, and to a bruised Rona. Tama entered the house just as Rika scolded her son, but she ignored it, wondering how badly Shoku had gotten beat up as well. Tama enjoyed a dinner with the Tenmas before heading off to bed, the thoughts of the earlier conversation with Netami and Kizo soon disappearing from her head.

Tama awoke the next Saturday morning, putting on her usual clothing attire, consisting of a short-sleeved black shirt with green designs and a dark blue pleated skirt. Tama washed up in the bathroom and prepared some clothes and other items for the following night.

Someone knocked at her door, and Tama turned her head, watching as Rona entered the room, a strange look on his face.

"Rona-senpai?" Tama inquired, a little concerned.

"Hey, Tama-chan." Rona cleared his throat, giving Tama a look of sincerity. "So, are you _really_ sure about tonight?"

Tama sighed. _Still worried about that…._she thought. She kept packing a few things and answered, "Rona-senpai, you have nothing to worry about. Now please, if I hear another word, I may just have to _live _with Mizuki-san."

Rona quickly left the room. Tama, confused, raised an eyebrow. _Is he really _that _serious?_ she wondered.

Once Tama had packed her things and eaten a late lunch, she heard a knock on the front door of the household. Tama grabbed her things and ran down the stairs.

"Hello, Mizu-chan!" a voice greeted. Tama raced down the stairs to see Rika greeting a lovely-looking Mizuki.

"Hello, Rika-sama," Mizuki greeted in return, looking over at Tama. Mizuki looked down at Tama, her gaze suddenly becoming confused. Tama did not know what was going on until she saw that Mizuki looked down at Tama's bag.

"Oh, this," Tama said with slight embarrassment. "Yeah, sorry. Hope I did not overdo it."

"You _really_ overdid it, Tama-san," Mizuki laughed, throwing herself back. "Oh, Tama-san, you don't _need_ all of that!"

Tama blinked, surprised. "R-really?" she stammered, setting her bag down. "I don't?"

"No, don't worry about it!" Mizuki assured. "Just leave your bag here; I will personally make sure that everything is just fine with you!"

"Oh, o-okay," Tama stuttered, leaving her bag on the floor and walking towards the front door. Looking over at Rika, she asked, "Could you make sure no one touches my stuff? I will get it tomorrow."

"No worries, Tami-chan," Rika assured, not sounding her usual cheery self.

Tama nodded, wondering why Rika sounding off, but thought nothing of it as she grabbed Mizuki's hand and left the Tenma household, following Mizuki only a few doors down.

"My family, the Wa-shishi family, has been the Tenma family's neighbors for a long time," Mizuki said cheerily. "So we know each other really well."

"That's cool," Tama said. "So, are you and Rona-senpai, like, best friends or something?"

"I would not say _best_ friends," Mizuki corrected. "But we're good childhood friends. If you really want to talk about best friends, I'll introduce you to Funikkusu Hinota sometime."

"Funikkusu….Hinota?" Tama did not recognize that name.

"Yeah. My neighbor five doors down," Mizuki answered. "We're _best_ friends!"

Tama smiled. "Well, it sounds like the two of you really are great, huh?"

"Our mothers were best friends," Mizuki explained happily. "Well, I guess they still are! But the two of us have known each other since we were little."

"Can't wait to meet her some-_time_!"

Tama's last words were rushed as Mizuki grabbed her arm and pulled her into another house, only a few doors down from the Tenma household. Mizuki opened the door, and Tama smiled. Blue walls. A pretty blue.

"Mom, we're here!"

"In the kitchen, Mizuki-chan!"

"You're gonna _love_ my mom!" Mizuki told Tama somewhat quietly, leading Tama through the blue hallways. "She's super nice! _And_ she's a great cook!"

"Sounds gre-" Tama halted in her footsteps as she entered a large room. In it stood a large and ferocious beast, with the body of a lion and the claws and head of an eagle. It's piercing eyes were all Tama could see. She shrieked.

"_Tama-san, it's alright!_" Mizuki shouted, turning to look into the room with a slightly ferocious glare. With her hands on her hips, she scolded loudly, "Mother, you said you would _be in human form_ when Tama-san and I got hom!"

The beast blinked and looked away in embarrassment. "Ooh, sorry, Mizuki-chan!" the beast apologized. "I guess I forgot!"

"Forgot my ass, I told you right before I left," Mizuki grumbled.

"Yes, well, I will change back now." The beast suddenly began to change form. Claws reverted to hands. Golden feathers and wings changed to pale skin and short golden brown hair. Piercing eyes with cat-like slit pupils morphed into large brown eyes with circular pupils. The figure, a beautiful woman, cleared her throat.

Mizuki sighed. "Thank you, mother."

Tama blinked as she stared at the new figure in front of her. The woman looked very gentle and very beautiful, almost like a supermodel in one of her mother's old magazines. She could not move, though, because of what had just happened.

"Do not worry, Tama-san," Mizuki assured, reverting back to a slightly cheerful state. "My mother does not bite."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Tama-chan," the woman, with a silky voice, greeted in such a humble manner. She bowed to Tama. "I am Wa-shishi Yaba, Mizuki-chan's mother."

Tama blinked and smiled. Yaba definitely seemed like a nice woman.

"And don't worry!" Mizuki assured, winking. "Remember how I told you that my mother knows all about you being human!"

"You have to say it so openly," Tama grumbled to herself.

"Yaba-sama _loves_ humans!" Mizuki laughed. Suddenly she stopped and looked away, sighing. "My father really hates it sometimes. I mean, Mother really loves humans and loves being friendly with them, but Father? Oh, he's another story. He hates humans so much he would rip their throats out as soon as he saw one, no matter who they are!"

Tama blinked, and her expression became completelly blank. Before she knew it, she had begun to shake. And shake. And shake….

"_WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY MIZUKI-SAN?!_" Tama screeched.

Mizuki covered her ears, and yaba just looked away and breathed out, innocent. Mizuki uncovered her ears as Tama's eyes twitched.

"Mizuki-san, you never told me you that your father likes to _kill_ humans!" she scolded.

Mizuki blinked and looked up, putting a finger to her mouth, as she looked on thoughtfully. "Really?" she inquired. "I didn't? I was pretty sure I did…."

"No, you didn't!" Tama stopped in her sentences and suddenly flashbacks began emerging into her mind.

_Rona blinked, looking slightly uneasy. "Wait, does-?"..._

_Netami and Kizo exchanged a frantic look…."Wait, did she tell you-?"..._

"_Well, I….hope you have fun."..._

"_No worries, Tami-chan," Rika assured, not sounding her usual cheery self…._

"_What is with everyone? Every time I tell others Mizuki-san invited me to her house, everyone gets freaked out."_

Tama finally understood the reactions of the vampires. They had been _worried_ about her….because of Mizuki's own father!

"Mizuki-san….?"

"Well, I'm sorry about all that," Mizuki apologized. "Still, I would really like for you to stay the night…."

Tama looked away. "I-I just d-don't know, Mizuki-chan," she responded.

Mziuki blinked, looking upset and uncertain. Suddenly her gaze lit up and she looked at something past Tama, waving her hand delightfully. "Hinota-kun!" she said cheerily. "Glad you could make it!"

Tama spun around. Her jaw gaped in astonishment. "Hinota….kun?" Tama stammered as she stared at the figure of a boy.

He looked barely younger than her, with orange hair and wearing a flaming red overcoat. He had a dull but fiery look in his green gaze as he stared at Tama and Mizuki, his eyes half-drooped.

The boy lifted his hand in greeting, but to Mizuki, not Tama. "Hey, Mizuki-senpai," the boy greeted, in almost a voice that sounded deeply feminine.

"Hey, Hinota-kun!" Mizuki greeted. "Glad you could come tonight!"

"T-tonight?" Tama stuttered.

"Yeah," Mizuki explained. "I asked Hinota-kun to spend the night with us. It's gonna be fun!"

Tama once again felt a blank expression cross her face. "Myself? And Mizuki-san? _And_ Hinota-kun?"

"That's right," Mizuki replied. "Me and my two best friends. It's gonna be an _awesome_ night!"

Tama felt like fainting. _So not only do I have to spend the night with Mizuki knowing her father would rip me to shreds, but I also have to spend the night with this _boy _that I do not even know…._ What had Mizuki gotten her into?

"Mother!" Mizuki suddenly called out. "is dinner ready yet?"

"Yupp!" Yaba replied. "I was just waiting for all three of you to show up first!"

"What have I gotten myself into?" Tama asked herself quietly.

"Hey there, human." Tama, startled, spun around to see Hinota staring at her with half-drooped eyes, looking intently curious.

"H-hey, Hinota-san," she greeted.

"Come on, Hinota-kun!" Mizuki breathed in disbelief. "Her name is Tama-san, not human!"

Hinota shrugged his shoulders. "I did not know her name, so what else to call her but what she is when I do not know her name?"

Tama blinked. _Damn,_ she thought. _This kid is smart. And kind of annoying, too. In a weird, dull kind of way._

Tama stared at Hinota, suddenly alarmed. "W-wait, you know I'm a human?"

Hinota nodded his head. "Sure. Mizuki told me. You know, we tell each other everything."

"You….really _are_ best friends," Tama grumbled.

"Don't worry, Tama-san," Mizuki assured. "Hinota-kun is really good at keeping secrets! that and he's really indifferent about humans. I remember when I first told him you were a human, and he just shrugged his shoulders, can you believe that?"

"Actually, I kind of can," Tama replied, her eyes half-drooped and her gaze neutral.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Mizuki pushed Tama towards Hinota. "I'm sure you two could be friends, too!"

Tama blinked. _What in the world is Mizuki-san thinking?_

Trying to push away the thoughts in her head, Tama's thoughts soon turned to curiosity. "So, just what type of demon are you?" she asked.

"Hinota-kun is a phoenix," Mizuki answered. "And a pretty powerful one at that. He is one of the few child residents of the neighborhood who can fully transform."

"Fully transform?" Tama echoed mystifyingly.

"That's right. Take me for example." Mizuki pointed to herself with her finger. "I can only partially transform into a griffin. You have seen my wings and claws, right? And Sasu-senpai? He's the same way."

"Partially transform?" Tama asked.

"Yeah. We're known as Hanbun, those of us who only partially transform into our demon forms. And then there are those known as the Kanzen, those who have power over full-body transformations."

"Like….like Shoku-senpai?" Tama suggested.

Mizuki nodded her head. "Yeah. I'm a Hanbun. Shoku-senpai is a Kanzen. My mother is a Kanzen, too. And so is Hinota-kun."

"And then there are those called Ichi. They have a single, unified form that can either be human or demon," Hinota added from behind.

"Like, like vampires? The Tenma family?" Tama inquired.

"There aren't many Ichi out there, but there are still some," Mizuki pointed out.

"You said there aren't a lot of children Kanzen in the neighborhood, right?' Tama asked. "Are Hinota-san and Shoku-senpai exceptions?"

"Yes," Hinota answered in a quiet voice. "There are only a few children in the neighborhood who are Kenzan, myself included."

"How is it determined if you're a Kenzan or a Hanbun?" Tama asked in curiosity.

"It all depends on your parentage," Mizuki answered. "My father is a Hanbun, but my mother is a Kenzan. If both my parents were Kenzan, I would be too. But, since I have one of each-"

"It's fifty-fifty odds," Tama finished, fascinated.

"Oh, my, you're quite adorable when you're captivated, Tama-chan," Yaba laughed, turned away from the three kids. "I know you must be hearing a lot of information right now, but how about we all have something to eat? Dinner is ready for you kids!"

Hinota, Mizuki, and Tama turned their heads to a table full of food. Tama blinked. It looked like such a normal table of food: palettes of riceballs, seafood, sauces, noodles, soy beans, curry, and sushi. Tama's jaw gaped. Mizuki came up next to her and whispered, "I _told_ you my mother is an amazing cook."

Tama looked at Mizuki, smiling. "I did not doubt it for a moment."

The three teenagers walked up to the table and sat down. Tama grabbed a pair of chopsticks and looked at all the food in front of her.

"Go on, Tama-san, dig in!" Mizuki pressed cheerfully, grabbing a few pieces of salmon from a palette. Hinota reached for a riceball.

Tama grinned and reached for some curry and sushi. Yaba left the kitchen, humming to herself.

"Isn't Yaba-sama going to join us?" Tama inquired, grabbing some noodles and putting them in a bowl.

"Whenever, I have friends over, my mother does not usually eat with me," Mizuki explained, taking a bite of a riceball. "She always just lets me eat with my friends, and then she eats after we're done."

"That's really nice of her," Tama said.

"That's Yaba-sama for you," Hinota put in, eating as some fish and curry.

The more Tama ate, the more delicious it seemed, the more she wanted to keep eating. She loved this meal. Although Rika's meals were good, this was completely different. The meal itself seemed almost fresh. Tama felt she could not get enough.

Eventually, though, she and Mizuki and Hinota stuffed themselves full. Tama leaned back. She had never in her life enjoyed such a meal.

"Mother's a good cook, huh?" Mizuki asked mischievously.

Tama nodded her head eagerly. "I should take some of this home with me!"

"Well, the door is always open!" Mizuki laughed.

"Mizuki-san, you can only say that to _me_, remember?" Hinota reminded.

"Oh, yeah," Tama echoed. "Your father."

Mizuki looked away, grumbling. "That's true. It's not fair though, you know?"

"Sorry, Mizuki-san," Tama apologized.

"Nah, it's alright," Mizuki assured, looking a slight bit unhappy. "I will someday get my father to like you, Tama-san."

Tama smiled. That would be nice, but she knew that would never happen. Tama stood up and, hoping to relieve the tension of the conversation, asked, "How about we find something fun to do?" she asked.

"Can't see why not," Mizuki answered, standing up. Hinota stood up with the girls.

"So what kinds of plans do you have for us?" Tama asked.

"Well, after some dinner, I thought about playing some board games," Mizuki said, winking. "I know Hinota-kun can atest to this, but I have some of the most fun games around."

Tama looked over at Hinota and tilted her head, her gaze questioning. With a neutral gaze, he said, "Yeah, her games are pretty fun. More so than a lot of other games kids play in Toruto."

Tama smiled. The three of them left the kitchen and entered a darker but warmer room, a fireplace on the side.

"It sure is cozy in here," Tama commented.

"This is the warmest room in the house," Mizuki said. "So yeah, it _is_ really nice in here. What game do you want to play?"

"How about Titan Battle?" Hinota suggested indifferently.

"Good idea!"

Tama blinked, uncertain. "Titan….Battle?" she echoed.

"The games we have here are a lot different from games you might know," Mizuki explained. "Titan Battle is a really fun board game. I think you'll like it!"

Tama nodded, though her thoughts swirled with confusion and uncertainty. Would she _really_ like this game?

Mizuki walked over to a shelf that stood taller than her and pulled out a long and thin box from one of the upper shelves. She set it down on the ground and sat on the carpet next to the fireplace. Hinota and Tama joined her, watching as Mizuki began to pull a large board and many small pieces out of the box. Tama gazed on with interest as Mizuki set up three pieces, a red swordsman, a blue dragon, and a green standing bull, on different parts of the board.

"I don't want the dragon again, Mizuki-san," Hinota complained lightly. "Hand me the black pegasus."

"Alright, Hinota-kun." Mizuki soon replaced the blue dragon with a black winged horse.

"You're the black pegasus," Mizuki told him. "I'm the red swordsman, 'cause that's my lucky piece." Mizuki turned to Tama. "Do you want a different piece?"

Tama looked down at the green bull, blinking. "Well, what else do you have?"

"Let's see. There's the white Loch Ness, the yellow hydra, the brown wolf, and the orange phoenix. Go ahead, pick any piece."

Tama looked thoughtful a moment. "I think I will try the white Loch Ness," she responded. Mizuki nodded and replaced the bull with a white dragon-like creature with fins and a graceful body.

"How do you play?" Tama asked.

"Watch," Mizuki replied, grinning. She blew on her piece, the red swordsman. At first, nothing happened, but then the piece shook and suddenly a holographic screen appeared, along with a moving swordsman, dressed in red attire and wielding a glowing red sword. Tama breathed faintly in disbelief.

Hinota blew on his piece, and another holographic screen popped up. This time a black-winged and black-feathered pegasus appeared, and it stared directly at the red swordsman, whinnying in anger.

Tama looked down at her white piece on the board. Leaning down, Tama blew on the piece. Suddenly, in moments, another holographic screen appeared, this time with a moving, white-scaled Loch Ness monster that looked like a slightly larger version of its piece-like counterpart. It glared at Tama a moment before focusing its attention on the pegasus and the swordsman.

"That's….really cool," Tama breathed.

"It's about to get better," Mizuki assured. "Since I blew first, my turn is first."

"Then Hinota-san's turn and then mine?" Tama finished.

"Yepp." Mizuki grabbed two dice, each with ten sides, and rolled them, before turning to Tama.

"I suppose I should tell you that the black pegasus had shadow-like powers. The red swordsman is a pyro. Your piece, the Loch Ness, has aerokinetic abilities. You know, gravity control and cloud control."

"It's a weak piece," Hinota mumbled.

"Stop it, Hinota-kun!" Mizuki scolded. "She does not know this game. Let's just start off easy on her, okay?"

Tama blinked as Mizuki looked down at the die carefully.

"A black side and a seven?" Hinota said. "You're lucky."

"What does that mean?" Tama asked.

"Black side means she can attack me," Hinota answered. "Nine means she can pick a strong attack card."

"So color determines the attackee, and number determines strength of the attack?" Tama inquired. "Is that why it's called Titan Battle?"

"Uh-huh," Mizuki answered. "You'd be surprised, though. Sometimes this game can last for _hours_."

"Really?" Tama asked, mesmerized.

"Yeah." Mizuki pulled a random card from a deck near her, looking it over. Then she looked at her piece and set the card, face-up, in a slot just behind her piece. The slot glowed faintly, and suddenly the swordsman attacked the black pegasus with a powerful slicing attack, using red to its advantage. The black pegasus attempted to dodge, but could not and received full force of the attack.

"Oh, damn you, Mizuki-san!" Hinota banged a balled fist on the floor.

"Ha!" Mizuki boasted. "I dealt fifteen percent damage to you!"

Hinota looked away and turned to Tama. "It's Hinota-kun's turn now," she said. "When it's your turn, pick a card from your deck with the same number as rolled on the dice."

"Deck?" Tama echoed. She looked down to see a deck of cards in front of her lap, face-down with different numbers on the top right corners.

Two dice rolled, and Tama turned her head as the two die landed on the color red and the number four.

"My turn, now," Hinota sneered.

Mizuki rolled her eyes as Hinota picked up a card and set it down on the slot right behind his piece. the slot glowed and the black pegasus fired a wing of shadows at the red swordsman.

"Ha!" Mizuki cheered. "Only four percent damage!"

"Whatever," Hinota grumbled.

Mizuki turned to Tama. "Your turn."

Tama blinked and picked up the two die. Hesitantly, she threw the die and rolled them, waiting until they stopped.

"Red and a ten!" Hinota screeched. "You're in trouble now, Mizuki-senpai!"

Mizuki rolled her eyes, though her tone seemed full of worry as she said, "The Loch Ness doesn't even have very strong attacks, so big whoop."

Tama looked through her deck and pulled out a random card with a ten in the top right corner, slowly setting it face-up on the slot behind her piece. The slot glowed, and the Loch Ness monster roared, its scales beginning to glow brightly. Tama looked carefully at the card she had placed on the slot, reading the words.

"Attack Spell Conjunction?"

"What?!" Mizuki said, looking at her card.

"Attack Spell Conjunction?" Hinota echoed in disbelief. "No way you randomly chose that card as your first card."

"What is it?" Tama asked, reading her card:

_Attack Spell Conjunction: Allows user to conjure Reaping Spell throughout rest of game to increase every attack by twenty-five percent. Also allows user a free random attack after spell is conjured. Attack: Whiplash._

Tama smiled. Already things looked in her favor. A light circled the white Loch Ness as it fired a powerful air attack at the swordsman. The attack looked faintly like a whip attack.

"Twenty-one percent damage," Tama cheered faintly.

"Damn you!" Mizuki yowled, covering her face with her hands. Tama chuckled to herself; Mizuki did not at all look like she was being serious about her reaction. It was just a game, and Tama knew that Mizuki clearly knew that.

"Shit's on you now, Mizuki-senpai!" Hinota bellowed.

"Knock it off!" Mizuki growled, picking up the die and rolling them instantaneously. "Next attack will be on _you_, Tama-san, I'm warning you!"

If it were a real threat, she would have become scared. But Tama could hear the humorous challenge in Mizuki's voice. Tama looked at her Loch Ness. She understood game on. At least, she understood it a lot better. She grinned and her eyebrows furrowed slightly. To her surprise, the words, "Bring it on!" erupted from her mouth.

Mizuki grinned and looked down at the die. The three of them continued their game for some time, yelling out numerous words, laughing and chattering.

"Take my Shadow Bolt, swordslooser!"

"I did not know you could use healing spells, Mizuki-san!"

"Take _that_, Tama-san! Blazing torrent!"

"Revert Time Spell!"

"What?! My Sound Bolt didn't do anything?!"

"Lava Rage!"

"Damn! Try this! Cloud Cover!"

"Swift Shot!"

"What the hell? Only half damage?!"

The game raged on for more than two hours. But, by that time, Tama found herself laughing harder than she had ever laughed before. Soon, she and Mizuki were rolling on the floor, laughing and wrestling. Even Hinota had the energy to laugh a little and join the two girls in their match. The game ended, with no clear winner, and the three of them wrestled and fought with pillows and laughed and cackled so hard their bellies had begun to hurt.

"Mizuki-chan!"

The three of them calmed down and turned their heads, their bodies all splayed out on the floor. Yaba appeared in the dim room, wiping her hands with a towel. She smiled brightly.

"Alright, Mizuki-chan, I think it is time for you and Tama-chan and Hinota-kun to calm down and get ready for bed."

"Oh, mother!" Mizuki complained, sounding happy but exhausted. "We are having so much fun! Just a little longer?"

"Alright," Yaba sighed cheerily. "Fifteen minutes."

"Sweet! Thanks, mom!"

Yaba left, and suddenly Tama felt a hole in her heart. She looked down and touched her hand to her neck. She only felt bare skin.

Mizuki looked at Tama and saw this. "Watcha doing, Tama-san?" Mizuki asked.

Tama sighed. "S-sorry, Mizuki-san," she apologized.

"Don't worry," Mizuki assured. "Why did you touch your hand to your neck? I don't think I have ever seen you wear a necklace before."

Tama looked away. Mizuki flipped onto her stomach and stared blankly at Tama, but suddenly caught on.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mizuki apologized, soundly truly sorry. "I-I didn't mean-"

"No, it's okay, Mizuki-san," Tama assured quietly. "It's just….."

"Did you used to have a necklace?" Mizuki asked.

"Yeah," Tama answered softly. "It was….my grandmother's necklace. She gave it me before she died, about nine years ago. I held it very dear to me."

"Is it at your house from before?" Mizuki asked, referring to the house Tama had lived in as a human, outside of Toruto.

Tama shook her head. "No. I lost it a year ago. To this day. I really do miss it."

Mizuki tilted her head to one side. "What did it look like?" she asked.

"It was…." Tama struggled to remember. _I really _haven't _seen it in a long time,_ she thought. "A chain. A silver chain. With a single sapphire-colored gem in the middle."

"Sounds like a pretty necklace," Mizuki commented.

"The only piece of jewelry I ever truly wore," Tama sighed.

Mizuki looked down, then flipped over on her back again, stretching her arms. "I'm already starting to get tired," she yawned. "I'm ready for bed. How about you two?"

"Yeah," Tama agreed.

"I could sleep for a week," Hinota said with exhaustion, closing his eyes.

"Thanks for coming over, Tama-san, Hinota-kun," Mizuki said with quiet gratitude, her yawning indicating she had begun to drift off into sleep.

"Yupp," Hinota yawned, his breathing slowing down.

"Thanks for inviting me," Tama responded with gratitude, and meaning it. She would not say it aloud, but she had had a really good time tonight. And she had Mizuki to thank for that. She had never had so much fun in her life as she had that night.

"You can….leave….whenever….you want…" Mizuki yawned, her words fading as she began to fall asleep.

Tama smiled and closed her eyes. _Mizuki-san is amazing. And I do not think she has any idea of that,_ Tama thought to herself delightfully. _And Hinota-san's really cool, too. Laid-back and collected. I suppose we probably could be friends. I mean, I do not see why not. It really is incredible….to have friends….like them….._

Tama's eyes slowly blinked open and she sat up. Looking around, she saw that Hinota and Mizuki still lay on the ground, their eyes closed as they snored softly. Mizuki's mouth was slightly gaped open.

Tama chuckled softly and stood up, stretching her back. For sleeping on the floor the night before, Tama felt great.

_You can leave whenever you want._ Tama recalled Mizuki's words before her friend had fallen asleep. Tama smiled.

"Thanks for the fun, Mizuki-san," Tama said quietly but with warm gratitude. She crept away slowly, heading for the front door. Stealthily, Tama opened the door, walked outside, and closed the door, hardly making a sound. Tama turned around and walked down a few steps as the chilly morning air brushed her skin. Turning right, Tama began to walk back to the Tenma household.

"You in a hurry."

Tama halted in her footsteps and slowly turned around, immediately recognizing the voice. A figure, his hands in his pockets, with spiky orange hair and blazing yellow eyes appeared, glaring at Tama. Tama blinked.

"S-Sasu-senpai?" Tama stuttered.

"Oh, you have heard of me?" Tama blinked as Sasu neared her, with a strange look in his eyes. A look full of…._dumb affection_?

"Tama-chan, right?" Sasu said, his throat rumbling and his eyes half-drooped. "You, uh, you're really pretty, gorgeous."

Tama blinked. She had to think of something, and quick. _I have to convince him somehow that I am not a human,_ she thought rapidly. _I have to pretend, and I really have to fake it well…._

"So how does a girl like you know my name?"

_Think, Tama-san!_ Tama smiled and said, "Well, since my cousins and I have exchanged a lot of letters, I know a lot of the residents of Toruto."

Sasu blinked, surprised. "Really?" he inquired with interest. "Have they said anything about me, then?"

"Well, Rona-senpia _has_ said that you're quite cocky and arrogant," Tama replied.

Sasu's eye twitched. Tama laughed and added, "But I have also heard of your strength. I wonder if he does not like you because it's a guy kind of thing."

Sasu blinked and closed his eyes, turning his head and grinning wide. "Well, I am quite a powerful-"

"Dragon?" Tama finished, her eyelids fluttering. "Yeah, I know."

Sasu smiled wide at Tama, looking very delighted and pleased. "You know, I like strong girls around here…." Sasu slowly neared Tama, his eyelids half-drooped.

Tama looked away and blushed. "Alright, easy, tiger," she warned.

"You look _really_ beautiful," Sasu said.

"Yeah, well, everyone says that," Tama sighed, acting as though she had lost attention. _Holy shit, I cannot believe he's actually buying it!_ she thought to herself gleefully.

"W-well what do you want me to do?" Sasu asked rapidly. "Anything, come on!"

"Oh, Sasu-senpai," Tama sighed, looking him directly in the eye. To add to the affect, she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "You know, I only like guys who can sweep me off my feet, you know? I just ask for something a little more….interesting."

"I can guarantee you I can do just that," Sasu assured.

Tama chuckled. "We will just see," she challenged, walking away.

"Hang on just a moment, Tama-chan!" Sasu called, quickly racing to block her path. "Why don't you come to my house? Just for a bit. I would like to introduce you to my family."

Tama blinked and stared at him in exasperation, but her mind was whirling with alarmed and frantic thoughts. _Dammit, not that! Come on, Tama-san, think of some clever way to say no!_

Sasu suddenly pulled Tama closer to him, leading her away from the Tenma's household. "It surely won't be long. I just really want them to see how pretty you are!" Sasu explained gullibly.

Tama felt like shaking, but couldn't. She wanted to say something, but no words came out. She merely followed along as Sasu pulled her, laughing to himself and smiling as though happy in a gullible kind of way. Tama's eyes twitched.

_Focus, Tama-san,_ she told herself. _Stay in character. As long as you do that, you should not worry. Right?_

Sasu turned sharply and he and Tama walked onto a few steps. Tama looked up to see a dark red brick building, unlike the blue or gray or black houses Tama normally saw, with many windows and glowing like red flame in the sunlight.

"Wait to you meet my mother," Sasu said, grinning. "She's really cool and wishes _she_ were a vampire!" Sasu opened the door to the house and Tama, still deciding to play along, entered the house without Sasu having to touch her.

"_Mom!_" Sasu screeched. Tama wanted to cover her ears but she forced herself not to.

"Sasu-kun?" a womanly voice asked. "Is that you?"

"We're home!"

"We?"

"Yeah!" Sasu cheered. "I brought Tama-chan with me!"

Tama almost halted in her footsteps as she listened to the conversation. She wanted to shake in fear as loud footsteps neared her and Sasu. Suddenly a massive figure appeared at the end of the hallway, glaring at Tama with blaring yellow eyes. Tama forced herself with all her energy to keep a level gaze as light shone upon the figure, revealing a tall woman with ginger hair.

"So _this_ is the Tama-san I have heard so much about?" the woman questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I told you, she's _gorgeous_, right?" Sasu grinned.

"Well, I guess there is no denying that she does have a beautiful figure," the woman confessed. "More beautiful than most vampires I have seen before. She reminds me a lot of Rika-san."

"They do kinda look related, don't they?" Sasu asked.

"I suppose so," the woman sighed, turning away. "Can I get you something to eat?"

"Sure!" Sasu cheered.

"No thank you," Tama replied softly.

Sasu looked over at Tama. "Are you alright? You look pale."

Tama blinked and shook her head, furrowing her eyebrows up at Sasu. "Seriously?" she asked.

Sasu bellowed with laughter. "Sorry! Probably not the best question to ask!"

Tama looked away and rolled her eyes, looking away. "You really aren't the brightest, are you?" she teased cheerily.

Sasu chuckled to himself. "Sometimes I wonder that myself. Come! Please meet my father!"

Tama nodded, but inside she could feel her thoughts growing with worry. _What is _he _going to be like?_ she wondered silently.

"Mom!" Sasu called. "Is Dad home?"

"In the study," a woman replied.

Tama turned her head as Sasu led her through another hallway, entering a dim but rather fluorescent room with dark oak-and-ebony shelves and cabinets. A single figure sat in a chair, large and human-like.

"Dad?" Sasu interrupted. "Sorry to come in, but I would like to introduce you to Tama-chan."

The figure in the chair turned, and Tama found herself, fearfully, gazing at a large beast with flame-colored scales and blazing yellow eyes. The figure, a humanoid dragon, stood up and stared at Tama.

_I can see where Sasu-senpai gets the yellow eyes from,_ Tama thought to herself, not daring to say it aloud.

The beast suddenly bowed to Tama, his expression softening, but only a little. "Welcome to our home," he greeted in a deep and almost booming voice. "My son has spoken much about you. What are you doing out so early in the morning?"

"I had just come from a sleepover at Mizuki-san's house," Tama explained, certain that revealing that would not hinder her situation.

"Are you friends?" the beast asked.

"Recently made," Tama replied. "I only came to Toruto not long ago, and I did not know Mizuki-san before then, but we made quick friends of one another." That much, at least, was true.

The beast nodded his head. "Mizuki-san is a friend of the Tenma family, so I suppose it is only natural that she would choose to befriend you as well."

"How does Mizuki-san treat you?" Sasu asked in suspicious curiosity.

"Why do you ask?" Tama inquired hastily.

"No reason."

Tama looked back at Sasu's father as the dragon stood up. "I am curious to know of your family," he rumbled as he walked out of the room. "They are relatives of the Tenmas?"

_Rona-senpai and I never thought that through _this _far!_ she thought with alarm. "My mother is Rona-senpai's mother's second cousin," she answered coolly. Thinking quickly, she added, "It's confusing, but oh well. I really wish we were just cousins instead of having to explain the boring details."

Sasu and his father both bellowed with laughter. Tama quickly joined them.

"Yeah, I know!" Sasu agreed. "My dad's cousin's friend's son is a very distant relative of mine, too. Uomo-san is really a great friend. Still, why can't we just be friends, or cousins instead of having to explain the boring details?"

"You mean like you just did?" Tama challenged.

"I certainly like this vampire!" Sasu's father chuckled loudly.

Tama smiled. They were buying it! She could not believe they believed everything she had just said! _This is a good thing,_ she thought to herself, still worried but not as much as before. _If I can keep this up a while longer, I could emerge from all this unscathed…_

"So, Dad, you think Tama-chan's alright?" Sasu asked.

Tama blinked, appalled. "Wait, wait, wait, you _really_ want to go into this that quickly?" she asked, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

Sasu immediately looked alarmed. "No no, that's not it, Tama-chan!" he started. "I, uh…."

"Sasu-senpai, I don't need _any_ demons making the moves on me just yet," Tama informed him, looking away. "Can you _seriously_ not tell when I am not wanting a relationship yet?"

Sasu looked away, fully embarrassed. Tama slowly gazed over to see that sAsu's father looked rather impressed by her remark.

"I, uh…"

Sasu's mother suddenly emerged out of nowhere and slapped Sasu on the back of his head. "Sasu-kun, did you _really_ not consider young Tama-chan's feelings?" she scolded.

Sasu, alarmed and baffled, shook his head. "N-no, it's j-just….well, I….uh…."

"Sasu-senpai, really. No need to get s-stammery," Tama teased.

Sasu's father laughed. "We apologize for our son, vampire," the dragon said, glaring down at Sasu with a serious but teasing look in his yellow eyes. "He is still too immature."

"I can tell," Tama laughed.

"You know, if you want to come back another time, you may," Sasu's mother implored.

"Thank you very much," Tama said with slight gratitude. "But I really should head back now…." Tama had to think of something quickly to say. "Netami-chan and I were playing on walking around the neighborhood."

"Ah, yes, I have seen you and Netami-chan before walking," Sasu's mother said, nodding her head. "Well, mustn't keep her waiting! Sorry we did."

"No trouble at all," Tama assured, turning around for the front door. She opened the door and, waving to Sasu and his parents, left the house and walked down the steps. She walked down the street and turned a corner. After she did, she clung herself to the nearest wall and gasped for breath.

_Okay, _that _was too close!_ she thought to herself in disbelief, panting for air. _Next time that happens….well, I just hope there _isn't _a next time!_

Tama slowly stood up straight again, catching her breath, though it took some time. She sighed heavily and walked down the street, looking around as she realized she had no idea where she was.

"_Tama-chan!_"

Tama spun to look to her left and saw two figures frantically bolting right for her. Tama blinked and her jaw gaped with astonishment as she recognized the two figures. And, before she could reply, Tama's body was suddenly grasped by both Rona and Shoku, caressing her in their arms.

"Tama-chan, we were so worried!" Shoku breathed in disbelief.

"When Mizuki-san told us you had already left we got so frantic!" Rona added.

"Don't _ever_ do that to us again!" Shoku scolded.

"Where the hell did you run off to?" Rona inquired angrily.

Tama pushed herself away from the vampire and werewolf, brushing her clothes off with her hands. "Calm _down_, will you?" she demanded. "I'm sorry I disappeared, but it wasn't my fault!"

"It's your fault I had to look all over for you with this piece of shit," Rona growled, pointing at Shoku.

The werewolf snarled. "Who are you calling a piece of shit, dead flesh?" he challenged.

"_What_ did you just call me?" Rona retorted. The two glared at one another, snarling and growling. Still, to Tama it did not seem a serious fight, just two boys fighting over a girl.

Another thought suddenly occurred to Tama, both surprising and flattering. They went out together in Toruto, looking for _her_. Together. They would never do so otherwise, based on the accounts of others of how much Rona and Shoku hated one another.

Tama smiled. "It's okay, really," she assured. "I'm alright. Sasu-senpai just found me and-"

Rona and Shoku suddenly looked over at Tama, shocked, as their fight ceased. The both neared her face and stared at her, curious and disbelieved.

"_Sasu_-san found you?" Rona asked.

"What happened?" Shoku demanded.

"Where'd he take you?"

"Did you get hurt?"

"Did he discover your secret?"

Tama pushed Rona and Shoku away, shaking slightly. "Really, can a girl get _no_ private space?" she asked them. "Look, it's no big deal. Sasu-senpai found me and brought me to his house and-"

"Wait, _what_?" Rona breathed.

"Yo-you actually went to his house?" Shoku gasped.

"Were his parents there?"

Tama sighed. "Yes, Sasu-senpai's parents _were_ there," she replied. "But I was able to talk my walk out of it, and they believe I am a straight-up vampire, so I wouldn't worry about it."

Rona and Shoku exchanged a look of sheer shock. Tama looked back and forth between the two of them, baffled. "What?" she asked. "What is the big deal?"

Rona looked back at Tama and said, "Um, Tama-chan, that amazes us."

"Why?"

"Don't you know anything?" Shoku asked. "When it comes to humans, Sasu-san's parents are the _worst_ demons you want to go to. They hate humans so much, they kill them and gut them and torture them beyond reason."

Tama gulped, and Rona added, "They're so into killing humans and they enjoy it and crave the idea of it so much that they do not even let their own son get a chance to."

Shoku nodded his head in complete agreement. "You know how Mizuki-chan's father is with humans? Well Sasu-san's parents are ten times worse."

Tama breathed out and brought her hand to her forehead. _I sure am damn lucky that nothing happened to me. I hadn't even known that. Had I known that, I would not have acted so confident before. Oh man…_

"Get it now?" Rona asked.

Tama nodded her head. "Y-yeah," she stuttered. "I get it."

Shoku breathed out in relief, throwing Rona a quick side glare. "Well, I sure am glad you're alright."

Rona's gaze jerked in Shoku's direction. "_You_ were worried? I was _way_ more worried than you were!"

"Oh, yeah?" Shoku challenged.

"Want to go, dogbreath?" Rona snarled.

"Bring it on, dead flesh! I will kick your ass so hard you'll fly to _my_ territory!"

"Your stupid moon won't help you, rotten fleabag!"

"_Show me a fight!_"

"_Oh, I'll give you a fight!_"

While the two bickered, Tama could not help herself to chuckle. "Oh, these two," she told herself softly. "When will they understand that I am just not ready for a guy?" As Rona and Shoku argued and spat, Tama walked right past them, heading for the Tenma household, laughing to herself.


End file.
